W. Squash Wins Dramatic Pair; Men Cruise

This weekend, the Harvard men's and women's squash teams got self-esteem boosters that Cosmo could only dream of offering.

With decisive road victories over Princeton and Penn this weekend, the Harvard teams completed a crucial Ivy League sweep that gives them momentum heading into one of the season's most important weeks.

On Sunday afternoon, the Harvard men (9-1, 5-0 Ivy League) posted a 6-3 victory over the Princeton Tigers, with two Crimson players winning their matches in five-game thrillers.

Sophomore Andrew Merrill, playing in the No. 5 position for the Crimson, surged back against Princeton's Peter Kelly after losing the first two games 10-15 and 10-15. In an unexpected upset, Merrill recovered and went on to win the next three games by game scores of 15-11, 15-10 and 15-10. HARVARD (MEN)  9 PENN  0 HARVARD  6 PRINCETON  3

"It was a pretty tough match for me, but I had to tough it out," Merrill said. "As a team, we've been working to improve how fit we are, and I felt fit enough in that match to win."

Another highlight of the men's competition against Princeton was the match-up between Harvard sophomore Shondip Ghosh against the Lions' Harrison Gable. Ghosh, playing at the No. 7 position for the Crimson, also managed to win his match in five games. HARVARD (WOMEN)  5 PENN  4 HARVARD  5 PRINCETON  4

"Those two wins were important because if [Merrill and Ghosh] had lost them, the outcome definitely wouldn't have been the same for us against Princeton," Harvard co-captain Tim Wyant said.

Tuning up to defend last year's Howe Cup--the unofficial national championship--the undefeated Crimson women (9-0, 5-0 Ivy League) tasted the sweetness of revenge by squeaking out a 5-4 victory against the Lions. Last year, Princeton snapped Harvard's streak of six consecutive national titles.

The Crimson's Leah Ramella was the deciding factor in Sunday's close victory against the Lions. With Harvard and Princeton tied at four matches apiece, Ramella, playing at the No. 7 position, won her match in four games and gave Harvard the win.

"Leah lost her first game, but after that, she completely dominated the match and won it definitively," Harvard co-captain Brooke Herlihy said.

On Saturday, the No. 2-ranked Crimson men, last year's Ivy League champions and winners of the last eight national championships, defeated the Quakers 9-0 to begin this weekend's Ivy League sweep.

"The Penn win was definitely more of a definitive win for our team," Wyant said.

The Crimson women, ranked No. 1 in the nation, escaped from Penn on Saturday with another 5-4 victory.

The heroic efforts of Harvard senior co-captain Stephanie Teaford, playing No. 3, decided the Crimson's victory on Sunday. Down 0-2 in games during her match, Teaford battled back to win the next three games and seal the meet win.

"Steph knew that it was tied at four-all, but she just persevered after losing the first two games," Herlihy said. "She played amazing squash for us and was incredibly fierce during the match. The whole team was in awe of her performance on the court."

The Howe Cup begins Friday at the Barnaby Courts at the Murr Center. There will be 28 teams from around the nation competing on throughout the weekend.

"We're pretty confident [about this weekend]," Harvard freshman Carlin Wing said. "We're excited because we really want to do well."

"Our team is clearly the best team out there," Herlihy said. "We're more fit than the other teams, and we feel ready to win [the Howe Cup] after this weekend."

After the two significant victories this weekend, the Harvard men will next compete against the Yale Bulldogs on Wednesday. The match-up will decide the Ivy League champion.

"We know that Yale beat Princeton 5-4 [Feb. 6], so we have to get ourselves ready," Wyant said.

"We're pretty excited about what happened this weekend and about our chances of winning the Ivy League title," Merrill said. "It was a little disappointing for us to lose to Trinity last week, but we're hoping to regroup because we feel great about this weekend."