CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The women's squash team secured a huge 5-4 victory over rival Stanford on Saturday in a consolation semifinal at the Howe Cup, assuring the Big Red will improve its national standing this season after finishing seventh each of the last two years.
 
Freshman Danielle Letourneau clinched the victory for Cornell (12-7) with a five-game triumph at the No. 1 position against Pamela Chu. Letourneau won the first two games before Chu rallied to force a fifth and deciding game, which Letourneau won 11-4. It's the second time this season that Letourneau has secured a 5-4 win for the Big Red, having clinched a match with the same score against eighth-ranked Dartmouth on Feb. 4.
 
With the win, the Big Red advanced to the fifth-place match against fourth-ranked Penn at 10:45 a.m. Sunday.
 
In Saturday's match, Cornell found itself trailing 2-1 after the first rotation. Jesse Pacheco secured the match's first point with a win in three games at the No. 3 position. Four-game victories from Jaime Laird (No. 2) and Rachel Au (No. 5) knotted the match at 3 after the second wave, then Lauren Sachvie's five-game win at No. 7 gave the Big Red its fourth point.
 
Cornell opened the weekend with a first-round loss to Yale, 9-0 – though the lopsided score was somewhat deceiving, given that only three of the nine matches were decided in three games.
 
Both Pacheco (No. 3) and Laura Caty (No. 9) led their respective matches before falling in five games. The seventh-seeded Big Red has defeated the Bulldogs just once in its program history.
 
#7 CORNELL 5, #6 STANFORD 4
Howe Cup; consolation semifinal
Saturday, Feb. 25
At Murr Center; Cambridge, Mass.
1. Danielle Letourneau (C) def. Pamela Chu, 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 11-4
2. Jaime Laird (C) def. Kerrie Sample, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8
3. Jesse Pacheco (C) def. Kyla Sherwood, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5
4. Kathryn Corelli (S) def. Maggie Remsen, 11-2, 11-6, 1-11, 11-9
5. Rachel Au (C) def. Aditi Maliwal, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7
6. Madeleine Gill (S) def. Clare Berner, 12-10, 5-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7
7. Lauren Sachvie (C) def. Serena Fagan, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10
8. Julie Koenig (S) def. Jacqueline Wagner, 11-3, 2-11, 11-7, 11-5
9. Alexandra Huchro (S) def. Laura Caty, 11-6, 16-14, 3-11, 11-5
 
#2 YALE 9, #7 CORNELL 0
Howe Cup; first round
Friday, Feb. 24
At Murr Center; Cambridge, Mass.
1. Millie Tomlinson (Y) def. Danielle Letourneau, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8
2. Kimberly Hay (Y) def. Jaime Laird, 10-12, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10
3. Rhetta Nadas (Y) def. Jesse Pacheco, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 10-12, 11-5
4. Alexandra Van Arkel (Y) def. Maggie Remsen, 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-4
5. Katie Ballaine (Y) def. Rachel Au, 11-3, 10-12, 11-4, 13-11
6. Gwendoline Tilghman (Y) def. Clare Berner, 11-2, 11-5, 11-9
7. Shihui Mao (Y) def. Lauren Sachvie, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3
8. Lillian Fast (Y) def. Jacqueline Wagner, 11-9, 12-14, 11-6, 11-8
9. Issey Norman-Ross (Y) def. Laura Caty, 8-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4