Reta falls in squash championship final

Penn senior Runa Reta was exactly where she was one year ago, facing Trinity's Amina Helal for the national championship of women's squash. Unfortunately for Reta in her final collegiate match, history and Helal repeated. The Bantams junior defeated Reta in four sets (9-4, 9-0, 1-9, 9-3). It was the fourth time this season that the number one and number two players in collegiate squash faced each other. Reta only lost to Helal this season, going 15-0 in her other matches. Holding true to their rankings, Helal won three of their encounters. Reta defeated Helal in their first matchup this season during Penn and Trinity's dual meet -- the first and last time in her career that she would defeat the two-time national champion. Penn's No. 1 swept through the early competition of the Ramsey Cup at the Intercollegiates this weekend, the tournament of the top 32 players in the country to determine the national champion. Reta did not lose a single game in the tourney until facing her archrival, dropping only five points to Francie Comey and and Yale's Gina Wilkinson in her first two matches. To reach the finals, Reta defeated Helal's teammate, nationally third-ranked Lynn Leong. Befitting her status as the top player in the country all season, Helal was similarly unscathed through the early rounds. Helal also topped one of Reta's teammates to reach the finals, defeating Penn sophomore Rohini Gupta in the first round by a decisive 9-0, 9-0, 9-3 margin. Gupta was the 32nd -- and final -- seed in the Ramsey Cup and thereby was matched up to face Helal in the first round. Penn freshman Lorin Riley fell to Leong in her first round match, taking only four points in the loss. Linda McNair was the only member of the Quakers other than Reta to advance beyond the first round of play, defeating Bronwyn Cooper three games to one. However, like Riley, she fell in straight games to Leong. Each of the Quakers invited to the Ramsey Cup fell to one of Trinity's top two. Reta's defeat marked the end of both a banner season for the Quakers as well as an incredible collegiate career for Reta. Penn finished the season ranked fourth in the country following the Howe Cup Feb. 16. At the tournament Reta was honored with the Betty Richey award for her love and devotion to the game.

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