PHILADELPHIA – In what was a battle at No. 7 Penn, No. 6 Columbia Women's Squash (9-5, 4-2 IVY) came up just short, falling 5-4 at the Quakers, in a match that saw five, five-set matches decide the action on Friday, Feb. 7 at the Penn Squash Center.
 
The Lions collected wins from Habiba Mohamed (No. 1), Nicole Kendall (No. 3), Cindy Cao (No. 7) and Jane Pincus (No. 8), with Kendall's win coming in a five-set marathon.  But unfortunately for Columbia, they were on the wrong side of four five-set matches, which would be a deciding factor in the matches' result.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: At No. 1, Mohamed came back from dropping the first set, to win against Jessica Davis, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8, to give Columbia a win at the top of the lineup.  At No. 3, Kendall gave Columbia its lone five-set victory of the match, battling through a first-set loss to take down Julia Buchholz, 5-11, 13-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-4.
 
Straight-set wins were collected for the Lions by Cao and Pincus, with Cao taking down Lindsay Stanley (11-8, 11-6, 11-6) at No. 7 and Pincus, who remained undefeated on the season (14-0), knocked off Eujung Park, 11-5, 11-1, 11-7.  But the match would be decided by Penn's victories in five sets at No. 4, No. 6 and No. 9, despite the Lions battling through those matches.
 
At No. 4, Jui Kalgutkar battled back from dropping the first two sets, taking sets three and four, but in the final set, Kalgutkar came up just short, falling 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, to Ashley Manning.  At No. 6, Bunny Fox fell, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 to Navmi Sharma, while at No. 9, Doria Chen won the fourth set to force a fifth and deciding set, but she would come up short as well, falling 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6 to Haley Scott.
 
NO. 7 PENN 5, NO. 6 COLUMBIA 4
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Penn Squash Center)
 
No. 1 | Habiba Mohamed (Columbia) def. Jessica Davis (Penn), 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8
No. 2 | Jamila Tamer (Penn) def. Erica McGillicuddy (Columbia), 11-5, 12-10, 11-4
No. 3 | Nicole Kendall (Columbia) def. Julia Buchholz (Penn), 5-11, 13-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-4
No. 4 | Ashley Manning (Penn) def. Jui Kalgutkar (Columbia), 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9
No. 5 | Amina Tamer (Penn) def. Ellie McVeigh (Columbia), 10-12, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6
No. 6 | Navmi Sharma (Penn) def. Bunny Fox (Columbia), 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6
No. 7 | Cindy Cao (Columbia) def. Lindsay Stanley (Penn), 11-8, 11-6, 11-6
No. 8 | Jane Pincus (Columbia) def. Eujung Park (Penn), 11-5, 11-1, 11-7
No. 9 | Haley Scott (Penn) def. Doria Chen (Columbia), 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6
 
UP NEXT: Columbia will return to the SL Green Streetsquash Center for senior day and the final match of the 2019-20 season, with a visit from Princeton, with that match set to get going on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m.
 
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).