NEW YORK — Junior
Bunny Fox took down Ciara Richards in four games to clinch a come-from-behind victory for the sixth-ranked Columbia women's squash team, 5-4, over No. 7 Drexel. The match was held Friday evening at the SL Green StreetSquash Center.
Columbia (1-1) went down 4-2 through six matches complete. The Lions needed to win all three of the remaining contests and did so starting with first-years
Sarah Cao at the No. 5 position and
Simmi Chan at the No. 1 position.
Those results leveled the team score and left it up to the No. 7 match between Fox and Richards. Fox fell behind with an 11-9 loss in game one, but by the time Cao and Chan had won, Fox had rallied to win game two and was in a close third. With her teammates cheering her on, Fox pushed through to win the final two games, 11-8, 11-6, to seal Columbia's first victory of the season.
"It was amazing. We lost to Drexel two years ago by the same score … so I was very happy to be able to bring home the win for the team," said Fox, who moved to 2-0 on the young season. "I was just overjoyed and it was so awesome to have my team come on and hug me and go crazy. I was so happy."
Senior
Habiba Mohamed picked up the team's first point of the day with a decisive three-game victory at the No. 3. After Drexel had taken the next two matches, Habiba's sister,
Farida Mohamed, fought through a tight second game but still needed only 25 minutes to make quick work of Alina Bushma from the No. 2 slot and level the score at two points apiece.
Drexel swept the next two matches at No. 6 and No. 8 to put the Lions against the ropes. Although the team score showed Drexel leading, 4-2, the matches remaining on court were all in favor of Columbia.
Sarah Cao got the rally started. After falling in her match a few weeks ago against Virginia, Cao bounced back nicely by winning the first two games against Drexel's Sanya Vats before ultimately winning in four.
Simmi Chan and Karina Tyma locked horns at the top court. The match looked like it might go the distance after a tight first game that saw Tyma edge Chan, 15-13, but Chan was up to the task. She allowed her opponent just six points over the next two games to turn the tables and didn't have too much trouble putting the match away to bring the team score to 4-4.
That left it up to Fox, who took control of her match in game three and rode that momentum to victory.
"I think the team has really bonded over the last couple of weeks," interim head coach
Joanne Schickerling said. "We had a really tough loss against UVA a couple of weeks ago that really made us rethink our training and have to come together. They've put more and more effort into practice and have been working so hard. It really showed today on the court."
Columbia plays its first Ivy League match on Sunday, hosting Cornell at the SL Green StreetSquash Center. The match is set for 12 noon.
For the latest on the Columbia squash programs, be sure to follow the teams on
Twitter and
Instagram (@CULionsSquash), on
Facebook (Facebook.com/CULionsSquash), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.
#6 Columbia 5, #7 Drexel 4
(1)
Simmi Chan (COL) def. Karina Tyma (DRE): 3-1 (13-15, 11-4, 11-2, 11-7)
(2)
Farida Mohamed (COL) def. Alina Bushma (DRE): 3-0 (11-3, 13-11, 11-4)
(3)
Habiba Mohamed (COL) def. Margot Prow (DRE): 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-6)
(4) Noa Romero Blazquez (DRE) def.
Erica McGillicuddy (COL): 3-0 (15-13, 11-8, 11-2)
(5)
Sarah Cao (COL) def. Sanya Vats (DRE): 3-1 (11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8)
(6) Brooke Herring (DRE) def.
Ellie McVeigh (COL): 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-8)
(7)
Bunny Fox (COL) def. Ciara Richards (DRE): 3-1 (9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6)
(8) Amirah Rusydina Rosli (DRE) def.
Renee Chan (COL): 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-8)
(9) Lydia Robinson (DRE) def.
Jannia Singh (COL): 3-2 (11-7, 6-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6)
Order of finish: 3, 4, 9, 2, 6, 8, 5, 1, 7
