NEW HAVEN, Conn. – No. 8 Columbia Women's Squash (11-7, 4-3 IVY) battled through a tough but exciting match to pull out a 5-4 victory over No. 6 Stanford to finish fifth in the country, giving Columbia its best finish nationally in program history in the final match of the 2019-20 season on Sunday, Feb. 23 at the Brady Squash Center.
 
Columbia got big wins from Nicole Kendall (No. 2), Cindy Cao (No. 6), Bunny Fox (No. 7), Jane Pincus (No. 8) and Doria Chen (No. 9), in a performance that saw the Lions snag three matches in straight sets while putting a stamp on the bottom four spots and the match as a whole.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The No. 2 match was a sweep for Kendall, as she took down Casey Wong, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, and it would be the only win that Columbia would get in the top four spots, but it would turn out to be a key win since the Lions needed all five wins that they got.  A five-set marathon took place at No. 7, and in a match that could've swung either way and changed the outcome of the match, Fox held off Juliette Love, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, to give Columbia yet another win.
 
The final three wins, which secured the best finish in program history, would all come from No. 6 down and the Lions would get those three wins by only dropping one set.  Cao swept through Amita Gondi, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, at No. 6 and Chen blew past Julia Gillette at No. 9, 11-5, 11-3, 11-1 locking up Columbia's three straight set wins.  And at No. 8, Pincus would storm back after dropping the first set, to take down Samantha Moadel, 8-11, 11-2, 13-11, 11-6 as the Lions finished their best final ranking in program history with the 5-4 win over Stanford.
 
CSA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS CONSOLATION FINALS
NO. 8 COLUMBIA 5, NO. 6 STANFORD 4
New Haven, Connecticut (Brady Squash Center)
 
No. 1 | Elena Wagenmans (Stanford) def. Habiba Mohamed (Columbia), 13-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-8
No. 2 | Nicole Kendall (Columbia) def. Casey Wong (Stanford), 11-7, 11-9, 11-9
No. 3 | Cassandra Ong (Stanford) def. Erica McGillicuddy (Columbia), 11-4, 11-8, 11-7
No. 4 | Caroline Neave (Stanford) def. Jui Kalgutkar (Columbia), 11-4, 5-11, 14-12, 11-3
No. 5 | Chloe Chemtob (Stanford) def. Ellie McVeigh (Columbia), 11-4, 11-5, 11-8
No. 6 | Cindy Cao (Columbia) def. Amita Gondi (Stanford), 11-9, 11-8, 11-8
No. 7 | Bunny Fox (Columbia) def. Juliette Love (Stanford), 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9
No. 8 | Jane Pincus (Columbia) def. Samantha Moadel (Stanford), 8-11, 11-2, 13-11, 11-6
No. 9 | Doria Chen (Columbia) def. Julia Gillette (Stanford), 11-5, 11-3, 11-1
No. 10 | Elizabeth Lentz (Columbia) def. Sun Woo Lee (Stanford), 11-4, 1-2, 11-3
 
FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Squash by following the Lions on Twitter (@Columbia_Squash), Instagram (@ColumbiaSquash) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).