No. 9 Virginia Topples No. 4 Columbia, 5-4

NEW YORK – The Virginia women’s squash team (1-0) picked up a 5-4 road win at No. 4 Columbia (1-1) on Sunday (Nov. 14) at the SL Green StreetSquash Center in New York, N.Y.

The No. 4 Lions are the highest-ranked team that Virginia has defeated in program history.

Sophomore Erin O’Connor got the ball rolling with an 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 win at seven. Senior Sydney Maxwell added a 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 win at five right after to put UVA ahead 2-1. Columbia picked up wins at three and eight to edge ahead 3-2 but senior captain Caroline Baldwin tied things up by battling for an 11-9, 6-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5 come-from-behind win at six. Freshman Maureen Foley battled in her first game at nine for a 16-14 win and then added a pair of 11-3 victoried to put UVA ahead 4-3. The Lions picked up a point at two to even the match at 4-4. Junior Maria Moya sealed the victory for the Cavaliers with an 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 win against Erica McGillicuddy at position four.

FROM HEAD COACH MARK ALLEN
“This was a huge win for the women’s team today! First year Maureen Foley and second year Erin O’Connor both did very well to use their 3-0 losses yesterday as fuel to their fires. They played some of their very best squash, both winning 3-0. Then we had two hard-fought wins from fourth years Sydney Maxwell and Caroline Baldwin; both stayed calm and composed in the closing stages of their games to take vital back-to-back wins on court #3 and set up the deciding match on that same court.  There are few situations more tense in college squash than being the last match on, at 4 matches each, with all the other games over. Maria Moya has grown so much as an athlete and as a person the past couple of years, and the poise, maturity and resolve she showed today to close out the deciding match was just such a great illustration of this. Her preparation coming in was far from perfect owing to a recent surgery, yet she showed absolute belief in herself and closed out a seamless win for the team. Neither of our teams has ever defeated an opponent ranked this high, which shows that when we believe in ourselves we are capable of winning at the very highest level.”

MATCH NOTES

• This is the Cavalier’s first win against Columbia. The Lions won last year’s meeting 5-4 and had won the previous two meetings
• The Cavaliers’ previous highest-ranked win was a 6-3 victory against No. 8 Cornell in 2018

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia is on the road again next weekend, playing three more matches against Ivy League opponents, starting with Penn on Friday (Nov. 19), followed by  Princeton (Nov. 20) and Cornell (Nov. 21)

#9 Virginia 5, #4 Columbia 4

1 | Farida Mohamed (COL) def. Meagan Best (W_UVA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-5
2 | Chan Sin Yuk (COL) def. Olivia Walsh (W_UVA) 11-7, 11-8, 11-4
3 | Habiba Mohamed (COL) def. Emma Jinks (W_UVA) 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-4
4 | Maria Paula Moya (W_UVA) def. Erica McGillicuddy (COL) 11-9, 11-4, 11-7
5 | Sydney Maxwell (W_UVA) def. Sarah Cao (COL) 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8
6 | Caroline Baldwin (W_UVA) def. Ellie McVeigh (COL) 11-9, 6-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5
7 | Erin O’Connor (W_UVA) def. Jannia Singh (COL) 11-4, 11-3, 11-5
8 | Bunny Fox (COL) def. Mandy Haywood (W_UVA) 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9
9 | Maureen Foley (W_UVA) def. Elizabeth Lentz (COL) 16-14, 11-3, 11-3
Exh. Renee Chan (COL) def. Nicolina Tessitore (W_UVA) 14-12, 11-6, 11-7