Pictured: Nirasha Guruge owns a 6-1 record at the No. 2 spot.
Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot Photography

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The top-ranked Harvard women's squash team improved to 7-0 on the season by defeating No. 3 Penn by a score of 8-1 Saturday afternoon at the Barnaby Courts. With the victory, the Crimson grabs sole possession of first place in the Ivy League, moving to 4-0 in league play, while Penn falls to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in the Ancient Eight.

Harvard earned wins at the top two positions, as Laura Gemmell took down Kristen Lange at the No. 1 spot, 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-7). At the No. 2 spot, Nirasha Guruge fought off Nabilla Ariffin, 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-1).  The Crimson also picked up 3-0 wins from four other players during the match.  At the No. 5 position, Natasha Kingshott defeated Britt Hebden, 11-8, 11-8 and 11-7, while co-captain Katherine O'Donnell collected a 13-11 win against Anne Madeira in game one of their No. 6 match.  O'Donnell claimed the next sets, 11-7 and 11-6, to earn the win.

At the No. 8, Sarah Mumanachit had back-to-back 11-9 wins in the first two games, before picking up a 14-12 overtime victory in game three.  Cece Cortes went to overtime twice in her No. 9 match against Pia Trikha, taking a win in three straight sets (13-11, 13-11, 11-6).

In other action, Alisha Mashruwala lost her first game against Rachael Goh at the No. 4 spot, 11-8, but rebounded to take game two, 11-3.  After Goh won the third game, 16-14, Mashruwala clinched the match with victories in game four, 13-11, and game five, 11-6.  Johanna Snyder also went a full five games against Yarden Odinak at the No. 7.  Each player grabbed an 11-7 victory in the first two games, before Odinak went ahead, 2-1, with an 11-9 showing in the third set.  Snyder took game four, 11-5, and then outlasted Odinak, 13-11, in the fifth and final game.

Harvard will welcome No. 4 Princeton to the Barnaby Courts for another key Ivy League matchup Sunday at noon.

Complete Results
No. 1 Harvard 8, No. 3 Penn 1
No. 1 Laura Gemmell (H) def. Kristen Lange (P) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-7
No. 2 Nirasha Guruge (H) def. Nabilla Ariffin (P) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-1
No. 3 Sydney Scott (P) def. June Tiong (H) 3-1: 6-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8
No. 4 Alisha Mashruwala (H) def. Rachael Goh (P) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 14-16, 13-11, 11-6
No. 5 Natasha Kingshott (H) def. Britt Hebden (P) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-7
No. 6 Katherine O'Donnell (H) def. Anna Madeira (P) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 11-6
No. 7 Johanna Snyder (H) def. Yarden Odinak (P) 3-2: 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11
No. 8 Sarah Mumanachit (H) def. Christina Matthias (P) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 14-12
No. 9 Cece Cortes (H) def. Pia Trikha (P) 3-0: 13-11, 13-11, 11-6
No. 10 Vidya Rajan (H) def. Stephanie Vogel (P) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-4