No. 10 Virginia Defeats No. 9 Cornell 5-4

PHILADELPHIA –  The No. 10 Virginia women’s squash team (7-3) battled to clinch a 5-4 win on Saturday (Jan. 18) against No. 9 Cornell (3-4) in a neutral site match at the Penn Squash Courts in Philadelphia.
 
Virginia captured the first point of the match with freshman Maria Paula Moya (Ambato, Ecuador) defeating Colby Gallagher 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5 in position four. The Big Red found its first point of the match with a 3-1 win in position four, but an answer from freshman Sydney Maxwell (Toronto, Ontario) in position three kept the Cavaliers in the lead. Maxwell defeated Madison Miles 10-12, 11-6, 13-11, 11-6 to move Virginia ahead 2-1.
 
Cornell tied the match, going 3-1 in position one, but junior Emily Woodworth (Weston, Mass.) captured an 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 win against Mimi Delisser in position five and senior Sarah Doss (Richmond) captured a 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 win in position nine to move Virginia ahead 4-2. Back-to-back wins from Cornell would tie the match, forcing a deciding point in position eight.
 
In the final match of the day, freshman Grace Seymour (Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.) secured a 3-0 victory to clinch the win for the Cavaliers. She topped Lucy Martin 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 for the position-eight win.
 
“The women’s team put in an excellent performance against a very strong opponent in Cornell today,” head coach Mark Allen said. “Just one spot separated us in the rankings and twice last season we went down to the wire against them. So, we knew that this was going to be a battle. Five of our players managed to post wins today but we competed well at every position. Freshman Grace Seymour exemplified the composure and confidence this squad possesses up and down the ladder as she delivered the winning point for us at number eight over one of Cornell’s veteran players. Our win today marks our second crucial win and I’m hopeful that we will bring today’s momentum forward into another important contest against Columbia next weekend.”

Virginia will return to action on Sunday, facing No. 20 Dickinson (4-6) in a 1 p.m. match at the Kline Squash Center in Carlisle, Pa.

No. 10 Virginia def. No. 9 Cornell 5-4
Order of Finish (4, 7, 3, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6, 8)
1 | Sivasangari Subramaniam (C) def. Emma Jinks (UVA) 3-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7
2 | Lily Zelov (C) def. Mandy Haywood (UVA) 10-12, 11-6, 13-11, 11-6
3 | Sydney Maxwell (UVA) def. Madison Miles (C) 10-12, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-6
4 | Maria Paula Moya (UVA) def. Colby Gallagher (C) 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5
5 | Emily Woodworth (UVA) def. Mimi Delisser (C) 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5
6 | Alexis Shatzman (C) def. Julia Curran (UVA) 7-11, 11-13, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5
7 | McKenna Stoltz (C) def. Julia Thompson (UVA) 12-10, 11-9, 13-15, 11-9
8 | Grace Seymour (UVA) def. Lucy Martin (C) 11-4, 11-9, 11-4
9 | Sarah Doss (UVA) def. Ania LaDow (C) 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8