NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After trailing by two sets in her match, junior
Wen Li Lai stormed back with three straight set wins to keep her undefeated record intact, and aid the No. 6-ranked Cornell women's squash team to a 5-4 victory over No. 5-ranked Yale at the Brady Squash Center on Sunday.
Lai lost the first two sets to Yale's Sneha Sivakumar, 11-9, 12-10, before using 11-9, 11-9, 12-10 victories in the latter three sets to give Cornell the victory over its Ivy League rival. In the final set, Lai trailed 10-7 before registering five straight points to take the victory.
The victory for Cornell was the program's second-ever win over Yale, while snapping a 23-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. It was the first win for the Big Red against Yale since Jan. 20, 2001.
Freshman
Alysa Ali also recorded a five-set victory for Cornell at the No. 6 position. Ali won the first two sets, 11-7, 11-9, before Meghna Sreedhar logged 11-4 and 11-9 set victories to force a decisive fifth set, which Ali won 11-6.
Joining Lai and Ali in the win column was
Sivasangari Subramaniam and
Aishwarya Khubchandani, the other two players in the Big Red's top three in the ladder, and
Lily Zelov (No. 5).
Subramaniam, Khubchandani, and Zelov each recorded four-set victories for Cornell, who is now 7-2 on the year and 3-1 in Ivy League play.
Match Results
No. 1: Sivasangari Subramaniam def. Elisabeth Ross, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 12-10.
No. 2: Wen Li Lai def. Sneha Sivakumar, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10.
No. 3: Aishwarya Khubchandani def. Christy Tin Yan Lau, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7.
No. 4: Brianna Jefferson def.
Ananya Dabke, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8.
No. 5: Lily Zelov def. Whitney Taylor, 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9.
No. 6: Alysa Ali def. Meghna Sreedhar, 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 9-11, 11-6.
No. 7: Mika Bardin def.
Alexis Shatzman, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8.
No. 8: Gigi Yeung def.
Ania LaDow, 11-6, 11-8, 11-3.
No. 9: Nina Mital def.
McKenna Stoltz, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8.
Looking Ahead
Cornell returns to the Belkin Squash Courts to open a three-match Ivy League homestand which begins next weekend when it hosts Ivy League-leading Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 28, at noon. Game action will be broadcast on Stretch Internet.
