Senior Marie Stephan was one of three Quakers to win all three of her matches in the tournament.
Credit: Chase SuttonFor the first time in three years, the Howe Cup finals will not feature the Red and Blue.
Penn women’s squash dropped their first match at the Howe Cup to Princeton on Friday, putting them in the consolation bracket where they defeated Columbia before ultimately losing to Stanford.
The loss on Friday meant the Quakers (8-8, 3-4 Ivy) would not be able to avenge back-to-back losses to Harvard in the Howe Cup finals.
The match against the Tigers (15-2, 6-1) was nearly identical to the match during the regular season.
The Red and Blue took the first three spots on the ladder, with Reeham Sedky, Melissa Alves, and Marie Stephan dominating their matches. But just as it went in the first match, the Quakers dropped the next six spots to lose the match 6-3.
The loss landed the Red and Blue in the consolation bracket to finish up the weekend.
Although it was not where they wanted to end up, the Quakers did not lay down. And it might be because they had unfinished business with their next opponent.
Columbia (10-7, 5-4) came into the Ringe Squash Courts last week and spoiled senior day for the Red and Blue with a tight 5-4 victory, but this time around, the Quakers wouldn’t be denied.
In addition to wins by their top three, the Red and Blue received strong performances for their final three points against the Lions.
Haley Scott avenged her prior loss to Columbia's Jui Kalgutkar in the No. 4 spot in a gutsy performance, coming back from two sets down to win 3-2. Freshman Julia Buchholz bounced back from a loss in the first set by winning the next three for a 3-1 victory, while classmate Cameron Munn battled for her own five set victory at No. 7.
The win put the Quakers in the consolation final against Stanford (15-4).
Although the top four spots of Sedky, Alves, Stephan, and Scott managed victories, none of the players in the final five positions were able to push their matches past the third set.
The result left the Quakers in a sixth place finish at nationals, their worst finish in the last three seasons.
This was the final action for the Red and Blue as a team, but some of the players will be competing in individual post-season play before finally completing their season.
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