No. 5 Virginia Picks Up 5-4 Road Win at No. 9 Penn

PHILADELPHIA – The Virginia women’s squash team (2-1) picked up a 5-4 road win at No. 9 Penn (2-2) on Friday (Nov. 19) at the Penn Squash Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

Freshman Maureen Foley, who trailed in her match at nine 2-0 and faced three match balls in the fourth game, clinched the victory for the Cavaliers.

Virginia opened the match by taking a 2-0 lead with wins from seniors Emma Jinks at four and Mandy Haywood at eight, but the Quakers came back to tie it 2-2 with wins at two and three. Penn then took a 3-2 lead with a win at five. Sophomore Erin O’Connor evened the score at 3-3 with a 12-10, 6-11, 15-13, 11-5 victory at seven. Sophomore Meagan Best picked up a three game victory at the top of the ladder to put UVA ahead 4-3, but the Quakers tied it 4-4 with a victory at six.

Foley dropped her first two games against Eujung Park by 11-6 scores. She won her third game 11-7 to force another game. She trailed 10-6 in the fourth game before winning six straight points to win 12-10. She took the decider 11-5 to secure the victory for the Cavaliers.

FROM HEAD COACH MARK ALLEN
“Today’s win over Penn was a big one for us, and significant in several ways. With our first ever victory over the Quakers we consolidated the confidence and ranking position we earned with last weekend’s upset of Columbia. Wins from Emma Jinks, Mandy Haywood, Meagan Best, and Erin O’Connor put 4 points on the board for us. But with two teams as closely matched as UVA and Penn, it was pretty much inevitable that the result would come down to the last match on. And when it did, first year Maureen Foley pulled out a “win from nowhere,” as she saved 3 match balls in the 4th game before taking the decisive set with a confidently played 11-5 finish. There is almost complete parity between the five teams currently ranked 4 through 9, which makes these wins crucial and something our players can be extremely proud of. They have sure earned them.”

ON THE HORIZON

• This is Virginia’s first ever win against Penn after dropping the previous two meetings
• This was the first meeting of the teams since 2018

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia plays its second of three road games against Ivy League opponents when it plays at No. 3 Princeton on Saturday at 1 p.m.

#5 Virginia 5, #9 Penn 4

1 | Meagan Best (W_UVA) def. Jamila Tamer (PENN) 11-2, 11-5, 11-6
2 | Yoshna Singh (PENN) def. Olivia Walsh (W_UVA) 12-14, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5
3 | Ashley Manning (PENN) def. Maria Paula Moya (W_UVA) 11-5, 12-10, 11-4
4 | Emma Jinks (W_UVA) def. Amina Tamer (PENN) 13-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4
5 | Avni Anand (PENN) def. Sydney Maxwell (W_UVA) 12-10, 11-9, 12-10
6 | Grace Lavin (PENN) def. Caroline Baldwin (W_UVA) 11-4, 13-11, 12-14, 11-6
7 | Erin O’Connor (W_UVA) def. Emma Carter (PENN) 12-10, 6-11, 15-13, 11-5
8 | Mandy Haywood (W_UVA) def. Navmi Sharma (PENN) 12-10, 13-11, 4-11, 11-2
9 | Maureen Foley (W_UVA) def. Eujung Park (PENN) 6-11, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-5