PHILADELPHIA — The No. 8-seeded Cornell women's squash team (7-7) cruised past No. 9-seeded Drexel (9-10) on the opening day of the College Squash Association (CSA) National Team Championships with a 7-2 victory at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center on Thursday morning.
 
Sophomores Xin Ying Yee (No. 1) and Maya Voloshin (No. 6) were the lone Big Red players to register straight-game victories.
 
Yee cruised through the first two games only allowing six points to Moa Bonnemark, 11-4, 11-2, but held off Bonnemark's attempt to force a fourth game, 11-9, to earn her team-leading 12th victory of the season.
 
Voloshin needed an extra point in the first game, 12-10, to defeat Awande Malinga, but then proceeded to allow only seven points over the next two games to coast to her seventh victory, 11-7, 11-0.
 
Junior Aishwarya Khubchandani (No. 2), sophomore Christa Kay (No. 5), freshman Sabine Ball (No. 7), and sophomore Saniya Jaggi (No. 8) all prevailed in four games, while junior Alysa Ali (No. 4) edged out Amirah Rosli in five games.
 
Both of Drexel's victories came in five-game matches, as Emilia Falconi edged senior Ananya Dabke (No. 3) and Maddison Laine defeated Devon Shatzman in the No. 9 match.
 
RESULTS
No. 1: Xin Ying Yee def. Moa Bonnemark, 11-4, 11-2, 11-9.
No. 2: Aishwarya Khubchandani def. Emma Bartley, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10, 11-4.
No. 3: Emilia Falconi def. Ananya Dabke, 11-9, 4-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5.
No. 4: Alysa Ali def. Amirah Rosli, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-8.
No. 5: Christa Kay def. Lydia Robinson, 11-5, 3-11, 11-8, 11-5.
No. 6: Maya Voloshin def. Awande Malinga, 12-10, 11-7, 11-0.
No. 7: Sabine Ball def. Lijana Sultana, 11-8, 11-3, 9-11, 11-8.
No. 8: Saniya Jaggi def. Claudia Adam, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7.
No. 9: Maddison Laine def. Devon Shatzman, 10-12, 4-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-8.
 
UP NEXT
Cornell will return to action on Friday morning for a match against top-seeded Trinity (15-1) at 11 a.m. Match action will be streamed live on YouTube, with matches taking place on Glass East courts No. 17 and 18.
 
SCOUTING TRINITY
Trinity enters Friday morning's match with a 15-1 overall record and has won its last 10 matches.
 
The Bantams are coming off a 6-3 victory over Stanford on Feb. 23, which was held at Yale. Four of Trinity's last five wins have come in 9-0 victories, three of which occurred at the NESCAC Championships against Wesleyan, Williams, and Tufts. Across its 10-match win streak, the Bantams have posted six 9-0 triumphs.
 
Janna Ashmawy enters Friday with a perfect 15-0 record on the season, serving as one of eight Trinity players with 10-plus victories on the season, joined by Lujan Palacios (14-2), Kara Lincou (13-1), Noa Romero (12-2), Jana Safy (11-2), Hannah Chukwu (10-1), Varvara Esina (10-2), and Fabiola Kliueva (10-1).
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH TRINITY
Cornell will be looking to post its first-ever victory over Trinity on Friday as the Bantams have won all 22 prior meetings.
 
In the most recent meeting back on Feb. 2 in Hartford, Cornell suffered an 8-1 setback to Trinity. Posting the lone victory for Cornell was Ball, who defeated Fabiola Cabello in four games, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9.
 
Friday's match will be the second consecutive year that Cornell is playing Trinity in the CSA National Team Championships. Last year, the Bantams defeated the Big Red, 8-1, also in the Howe Cup quarterfinals.