SEASON REVIEW: DiMauro upset by No. 3 Pochada in individual tournament

In a season when hope was shattered by disappointment for the Penn women's squash team, No. 1 Jessica DiMauro has one more memory to add to the list of moments she would like to forget. DiMauro, seeded No. 2 at the Intercollegiate tournament last weekend, was unable to regain the crown she had worn two years ago as a freshman. For DiMauro, second best in the country just isn't good enough. Intercollegiates is a prestigious national tournament held in Amherst, Mass., featuring America's top 64 college squash players. DiMauro made it to the finals Sunday afternoon only to fall 3-1 at the hands of the tournament's No. 3 seed, Ivy Pochoda -- Harvard's No. 1 player. "Ivy just didn't make any errors in the final," DiMauro said. "I tried to take advantage of her weakness and hit it high to her backhand, but she made every shot." This was the ninth meeting of the two players. The senior had won seven of the previous eight. "The one I lost was on a North American court which is totally different," DiMauro said. International courts are wider than North American courts and more suitable to DiMauro's style of play. DiMauro was caught off guard having to play Pochoda. She had expected Julia Beaver-- the No. 1 seed who was undefeated in the season -- to prevail in that semi-final matchup. DiMauro had lost twice already this season to Beaver and was not looking forward to playing her again. "I was pretty much expecting to lose to Julia, but not Ivy," DiMauro said. "It was hard to change my mindset to thinking I could win. Ivy was more mentally prepared." DiMauro's defeat was the last in a long season full of emotion. She suffered her first misfortune way back on January 4 when she lost the Constable Invitational championship match -- a title she had owned for the previous two years -- to Beaver, Princeton's No. 1. Next came the team's grudge match against Harvard, ranked No. 1 at the time. The Quakers held match point against the Crimson before losing a heartbreaker, 5-4. DiMauro managed to win her match following a Crimson celebration after notching its fifth point, but the glue holding her together had weakened. With the season on the line a week later against Princeton, Penn needed a win to move into a tie for first place in the Ivy League. Beaver beat DiMauro in the rematch and the Quakers came up short again. After a devastating loss, the Red and Blue got to watch the Tigers celebrate winning the Ivies and the national title. In return, Penn finished No. 3 for the third season in a row. In a sport which crowns two national champions, Penn received a second chance to finish on top, playing in the Howe Cup team championships. After a convincing 9-0 blowout over Trinity in the first round, the Quakers were keyed up for a rematch against hated foe Harvard. Once again Penn was on the short end of a 5-4 loss placing them where else but third in the competition. With the team's season completed, all that was left for DiMauro was individual redemption at the Intercollegiates. It just wasn't meant to be. Penn was represented at Intercollegiates by five other players in addition to DiMauro -- Katie Patrick, Helen Bamber, Dana Lipson, Lauren Patrizio and Rina Borromeo. Patrick had the second best finish among the Quakers. An underdog to win the tournament, she played well early in the competition but was disappointed to lose three quick games in the quarter-finals to Pochoda. With Penn's other nine starters all returning next year, the Quakers will have another strong chance at winning a title. "The nice thing about the season is that it feels like it's the half way point because we have no seniors graduating," Holleran said. "Next year we'll pick up where we left off and continue to get stronger instead of having to rebuild." For DiMauro, it will be the last shot at a championship.