CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's squash is set to begin its pursuit of a ninth-consecutive National Championship this Friday, when it takes on No. 7 Virginia in the Howe Cup Quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. The Crimson (10-1, 6-0 Ivy) met the Cavaliers on the courts earlier this season in an eventual 9-0 Harvard victory.
 
Harvard and Virginia will face off on the courts at the Arden Specter US Squash Center at Penn tomorrow (Mar. 1) at 3:00 PM. The match will be streamed live on SquashTV. 
 

THE BRACKET

The Crimson received the two-seed in the 12-team National Championship bracket and got a bye to the quarterfinal round on Friday. Virginia, the tournament's seven-seed, defeated No. 10 Drexel, 5-4 to earn a spot in the quarters against Harvard. The winner of the match tomorrow will move on to face off against either No. 3 Princeton or No. 6 Stanford on Saturday in the semifinal round.
 
The Howe Cup Championship match will take place at 2:30 PM on Sunday, March 4 at 2:30 PM.
 

WHAT TO KNOW

• Harvard enters the Championship weekend with a 10-1 overall record and a national ranking of No. 2.
• The Crimson posted a combined individual record of 86-13 on the season.
• The team won six matches in 9-0 sweeps and three more matches with an 8-1 score.
• Harvard competed against every team in the 2024 tournament field defeating all but one of the opponents.
• Harvard and Virginia have competed against each other only once before in series history, a 9-0 win for the Crimson earlier this season.  
• Harvard has not dropped a match at the Team National Championships since the 2013-14 season.
• The Crimson holds a 38-2 overall record in the opening round of the Howe Cup in program history.
• The team has outscored opponents 66-13 in CSA Nationals matches in the past three seasons.

 

THE LADDER

• Marina Stefanoni leads the way at the top of the ladder, holding a 9-1 record at the one position.
• Saran Gregory-Nghiem, the team's no. 2 player on the ladder, has posted a 7-1 mark from the second position and a 10-1 overall record.
• Habiba Eldafrawy has played excellent at three for the Crimson this season, posting a 6-2 mark and a 9-2 overall record.
• Lucie Stefanoni has held down the four spot in the Harvard lineup, posting an 8-1 record in her first collegiate season.
• Serena Daniel has impressed at the five spot, winning eight of her nine matches played at the pairing. Daniel holds a 10-1 overall record entering the weekend.
• Brecon Welch, the team's no. 6 player in the lineup, has posted an 8-1 record from the position this season.
• Ella Galova has locked down the seven spot with her 7-1 record.
• Four different athletes have won a match at the eighth position, but Molly Stoltz's 6-2 record leads the team from the spot.
• Amira Singh has had a few strong showing from the nine spot where she has posted a 6-2 record.

 

UP NEXT

The winner of the battle between Harvard and Virginia will go on to face the winner of the Princeton and Stanford match in the semifinal round on Saturday afternoon. The Howe Cup match will take place on Sunday, March 3 at 2:30 PM.