ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell women's squash team's season will come down to a single match on Saturday when it hosts No. 9 Yale at noon at Belkin Squash Courts in a contest that will determine which team advances to the inaugural Ivy League Tournament. All matches will be streamed live on Stretch Internet.
With Cornell sitting at 2-3 in conference play, the Big Red would claim the fourth and final spot in next weekend's inaugural Ivy League Tournament with a victory over Yale and seven or fewer individual match wins by Dartmouth against Penn on Saturday. The tournament will be held at the women's top seed's home venue.
The eighth-ranked Big Red (6-6, 2-3 Ivy League) are coming off splitting its pair of matches last weekend, defeating No. 15 Columbia, 7-2, on Saturday in New York City before falling to third-ranked Stanford, 8-1, on Sunday in Norwalk, Conn.
In the win over Columbia, Cornell showcased its depth with victories across the lineup. Senior
Alysa Ali (No. 3) and sophomore
Sabine Ball (No. 5) cruised to straight-game wins, while senior
Aishwarya Khubchandani (No. 2) and juniors
Maya Voloshin (No. 7) and
Saniya Jaggi (No. 8) all prevailed in four games. Junior
Christa Kay battled through a five-game thriller at No. 6, outlasting Eugenia Li to seal the victory.
Junior
Xin Ying Yee was the lone Big Red player to post multiple wins on the weekend and enters Saturday having won her last two matches. The junior has been Cornell's most consistent performer this season, compiling a 6-3 record exclusively from the No. 1 position — the best win percentage among the team's primary contributors.
Ali and Voloshin share the team lead with seven victories apiece, both posting 7-5 records on the season.
Yale (2-6, 1-3 Ivy League) arrives in Ithaca having dropped three straight matches and won just once in its last six outings. That lone victory came against Dartmouth, 8-1, on Jan. 30 — the result that is keeping the Bulldogs' postseason hopes alive entering its pair of matches against Cornell and Columbia this weekend.
The Bulldogs feature a balanced attack with five players tied for the team lead at 3-4: Heng Wai Wong, Spring Ma, Meha Shah, Elise Kang and Eedha Mehta.
History heavily favors the visitors in this series, with Yale holding a commanding 33-2 advantage all-time and has won the last three meetings. Cornell is seeking its first victory over the Bulldogs since a thrilling 5-4 road win on Jan. 22, 2023, which snapped a 25-match losing streak in the series. The Big Red's only home victory over Yale came more than two decades ago — a 6-3 triumph on Jan. 20, 2001.
