CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard women's squash began its 2024-25 campaign with a 9-0 sweep of the No. 13 Tufts Jumbos this afternoon. The Crimson effort was nearly perfect as the group only dropped one set and won eight of nine matchups in sweeping fashion. First-years Caroline Fouts, Ocean Ma and Sarita Popat all recorded their first collegiate wins to help Harvard earn its 20th consecutive victory over its cross-town foe. 

How It Happened

The Crimson began its 2024-25 season today at the Murr Squash courts with a match against the No. 13 Tufts Jumbos, who made the short trip across Boston to battle the Crimson. 

Harvard started strong and fast, picking up three wins in the first set of matches to take an early lead in the match. Lucie Stefanoni flew to a 3-0 win at the fourth matchup, winning her match in just 17 minutes on the court. Saran Nghiem was just behind, winning 3-0 while losing just nine points in her match at two. Emma Carney also won her match at eight in sweeping fashion to put Harvard in the lead. 

The Crimson clinched the win in the second wave of matchups, getting another trio of wins at the first, fifth and ninth pairings. First-year Caroline Fouts won her match 3-0 at the top of the ladder while Molly Stoltz and Ella Galova turned in similar efforts to put Harvard in the lead, 6-0. 

Habiba Eldafrawy held off a rally from her opponent to come away with a win at three and first-years Ocean Ma and Sarita Popat closed out the match with wins at the six and seven pairings.

Harvard moves to 1-0 on the season and improves its winning streak in season openers to 50 consecutive matches. 

Results

No. 1 Harvard - 9
No. 13 Tufts - 0

1. Caroline Fouts def. Sohni Vermani (TUFTS), 3-0 (11-3, 11-1, 11-9)
2. Saran Nghiem def, Maria Arseniev (TUFTS), 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-1)
3. Habiba Eldafrawy def. Riddhi Joshi (TUFTS), 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-4)
4. Lucie Stefanoni def. Anika Goyal (TUFTS), 3-0 (11-4, 11-2, 11-4)
5. Molly Stoltz def. Aleezah Burhan (TUFTS), 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-6)
6. Ocean Ma def. Indira Moshi (TUFTS), 3-0 (11-3, 11-3, 11-6)
7. Sarita Popat def. Sonya Bajaj (TUFTS), 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7)
8. Emma Carney def. Sora Karanja, 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-7)
9. Ella Galova def. Maria Fernanda Pinot (TUFTS), 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-3)

Up Next 

Harvard will have two weeks to rest and prepare for a pair of challenging matches against Dartmouth (Dec. 4) and Virginia (Dec. 6) in two weeks. The matches will be the final competitions for the Crimson before the finals and holiday breaks.