Dartmouth Edges Squash in Howe Semis, 5-4

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HARVARD, Mass. (Feb. 14, 2009) – The 11th seeded Mount Holyoke College women’s squash team suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 setback versus 10th seeded Dartmouth College today in the semifinal round of the 2009 College Squash Association Howe Cup National Championships at Harvard University.

As a result of their second win of the year over the Lyons, the Big Green advanced to tomorrow’s Kurtz Cup (B Division) Championship. They will face off against 9th seeded Brown University, which cruised to an 8-1 triumph over 12th seeded Bowdoin College in today’s other semifinal tilt. Mount Holyoke and Bowdoin will meet in the 11th place contest tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.

The Howe Cup consists of four eight team brackets. Champions will be crowned in each of the subdivisions tomorrow.

After falling 8-1 at Dartmouth in its season opener, Mount Holyoke (14-7) nearly returned the favor today. With the match in the balance, Maura Doherty downed first year Shara Robertson 3-1 at the number four position to clinch things for the Big Green.

Senior Pamela Anckermann and sophomore Vidushi Gurunada each came up with victories for the Lyons. Anckermann blanked Hannah Conant at the number slot, and Gurunada downed Madeline Lurio 3-1 in the number two contest.

Mount Holyoke’s remaining wins came from senior Menusha Hettiarachchi and junior Laurian Lue Yen. After dropping the first game, Hettiarachchi rebounded to defeat Taylor Tully 3-1 in the fifth position. Meanwhile, Lue Yen breezed past Eliz Weintraub in the number six matchup.