PHILADELPHIA, PA – No. 2 Harvard Women's Squash opened up play at the CSA Team Championships today against No. 7 Columbia.  The Crimson got their second win of the season over Columbia, downing the Lions 6-3 to move into the semifinals of the Howe Cup. 

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A win from Binney Huffman solidifies the Crimson victory over No. 7 Columbia?? Harvard will now face Princeton in the semifinals tomorrow#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/01cIG39Dyp

— Harvard Squash (@harvardsquash) February 17, 2023

The Crimson began the day with two wins from Amira Singh and Habiba Eldafrawy to grab an early 2-0 lead.  Despite falling at the No. 5 position, wins from Serena Daniel and Molly Stoltz pulled the Crimson to one win away from solidifying a first round victory.
 
Binney Huffman ultimately held strong against her opponent at the No. 8 position, winning in 3-0 fashion to clinch the win for the Crimson.  To close the day, Brecon Welch added one more win to bring the Crimson win total to six. 

Harvard Highlights

• In their six wins, the Crimson posted four 3-0 sweeps from Eldafrawy, Daniel, Stoltz, and Huffman. 
• Eldafrawy and Huffman both improved to 11-1 with their wins today.  Eldafrawy led all Crimson players by dropping the least number of points, outscoring her opponent 11-5, 11-7, 11-9. 
• With the win, Welch joins Eldafrawy and Huffman with double digit victories, now standing with a record of 10-1. 
• Stoltz remains undefeated on the year, having won all eight of the matches she has competed in. 
• The Crimson remain undefeated all-time against the Lions, having won all 14 of their matchups, including two this season. 

Results

Harvard – 6, Columbia – 3

1. Farida Mohamed (Columbia) def. Marina Stefanoni, 3-1 (11-9, 4-11, 11-2, 11-8)
2. Chan Sin Yuk (Columbia) def. Saran Gregory-Nghiem, 3-0 (11-7, 11-2, 11-6)
3. Habiba Eldafrawy def. Erica McGillicuddy (Columbia), 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-9)
4. Serena Daniel def. Nourin Khalifa (Columbia), 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6)
5. Sarah Cao (Columbia) def. Evie Coxon, 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8)
6. Brecon Welch def. Kiroshanna Manoharan (Columbia), 3-2 (6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-3)
7. Amira Singh def. Elizabeth Lentz (Columbia), 3-0 (13-11, 11-6, 11-8)
8. Binney Huffman def. Amal Lzhar (Columbia), 3-0 (15-13, 11-6, 11-5)
9. Molly Stoltz vs. Ellie McVeigh (Columbia), 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4)

 
Order of finish: 3, 7, 5, 4, 9, 1, 8, 2, 6

Next Up

The Crimson will return to action tomorrow to take on No. 3 Princeton at 2:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the Howe Cup from the Penn Squash Center.  Harvard faces off against Princeton after the Tigers 6-3 first round win over Cornell.  With a win tomorrow, the Crimson would advance to the finals of the Howe Cup, in hopes of winning their eighth straight national title.