Harvard Posts Sweep Against Dartmouth

The Harvard women’s squash team (3-0, 2-0 Ivy) continued its early-season dominance, downing a previously undefeated Dartmouth (3-1, 0-1 Ivy) 9-0 yesterday at the Barnaby Courts.

For the third consecutive match, no Crimson player dropped a game, winning all nine matches 3-0 and improving the squad’s game-record to a lopsided 81-0 on the season.

The victory also boosts Harvard’s unbeaten streak against the Big Green to eight matches, dating back to 2002. Yesterday’s match was the first 9-0 sweep.

“The team always has a great attitude towards its matches, whether they think it is a match they are going to win or a match that will be tough,” coach Satinder Bajwa said. “I am very pleased with the team spirit.”

Sophomores No. 3 Alisha Mashruwala and No. 8 Alexandra Zindman paced the Crimson early with 9-0, 9-0, 9-2 and 9-3, 9-0, 9-0 victories, respectively. Both players made few mistakes and took care of business on serve, concluding their matches within a half-hour.

Freshman Nirasha Guruge, in only the third match of her collegiate career and playing at the No. 2 flight, faced a challenge from her Big Green opponent, but ultimately prevailed for a hard-fought 3-0 win.

After falling behind 5-0 in the opening game, Guruge seized control by winning nine of the next ten points to take the first game, 9-6.

In the second, Guruge stormed out to take an 8-3 lead and was on the verge of finishing the game when Hannah Conant of Dartmouth rallied to quickly narrow the gap to 8-7.

But Guruge won back the serve and closed the game, 9-7. She used the positive momentum to run through the third game, 9-0, to take the match.

Freshman No. 3 Emily Park improved her collegiate record to 3-0 with a convincing 9-2, 9-3, 9-2 victory.

Sophomore No. 1 June Tiong continued her strong play at the top flight, striking a wide array of winners along the wall for an efficient 9-4, 9-3, 9-2 victory.

Junior No. 5 Katherine O’Donnell used corner and drop shots to great effect to record the most lopsided win of the day with a 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 pounding that that was over in 20 minutes.

“I’m working on being consistent, and I think that is true for everybody on the team,” O’Donnell said. “But I’m very happy with how the match went.”

Junior captain Johanna Snyder wrapped up her third victory of the year with a 9-1, 9-2, 9-0 win in the seventh flight.

Sophomore No. 6 Bethan Williams and junior No. 9 Sandra Mumanachit completed the rout with 9-2, 9-1, 9-2 and 9-0, 9-0, and 9-2 victories, respectively.

Mumanachit has recorded six 9-0 games for the Crimson this season, the most on the team.

A 3-0 record in December is no new trick for Harvard, as the squad has opened each of the past six seasons 3-0 or better heading into the new year.

However, the Crimson does not take on rival powerhouses Princeton, Penn, and Trinity until February.

These early-season matches against Brown, Williams, and Dartmouth offer the Crimson an opportunity to ease into the competition and to refine its shots before heading into the most challenging block of its schedule.

“In matches like this, when they feel that the competition is not as strong, the players try to force out some of their weaknesses and test themselves,” Bajwa said.

Despite the youth of the Crimson squad—the top five is made up of only freshmen and sophomores—Harvard has started its season with a solid opening trifecta against Brown, Williams, and Dartmouth and shows much promise for the upcoming season.

Based on its performance thus far, the Crimson will likely be a contender for both the Ivy League crown and the season-ending Howe Cup.

Harvard next travels to Ithaca, N.Y. for an Ivy League matchup against Cornell Saturday at noon.

—Staff writer Barrett P. Kenny can be reached at bpkenny@fas.harvard.edu.