NEW YORK — The No. 10 Columbia women's squash team fell in its season opener to No. 6 Virginia, 6-3, Sunday afternoon at the SL Green StreetSquash Center.
Despite the loss, the Lions saw reigning College Squash Association (CSA) Women's National Champion Simmi Chan, Sarah Cao and first-year Kaavya Bansal earn individual victories. Chan, playing at the No. 1 in Columbia's lineup, came back from a dropped first game to defeat Meagan Best (7-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-6). Cao also won in four games from the No. 6 position. Bansal picked up her first collegiate win in her debut, defeating Caroline Pellegrino in the No. 8 match that went down to the wire (11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9).
"UVA had a good 5-4 win yesterday against Yale. These are all teams we are aiming to try and edge out. Everyone is going to be close," Director of Squash Chris Sachvie said. "If you count up the number of games that were decided by just a few points today, it shows that the results could have been flipped. It's a fun environment but a tough environment for the first-years to get their first taste of college squash."
Bansal's win gave the Lions their first point of the afternoon. Virginia picked up the other two in the first wave, as Lina Tammam defeated Nourin Khalifa in the No. 2 match and Maureen Foley got the better of Amal Izhar in four games in the No. 5 match.
The match moved to 3-2 in favor of Virginia following a win by the Cavaliers' Olivia Walsh at No. 4 and Chan's victory over Best in the top competition. Unfortunately, UVA grabbed the next two points to clinch it. The deciding result came in the No. 3 match, where Maria Moya rallied from 2-1 down to win games four and five against Erica McGillicuddy (11-6, 8-11, 9-11. 13-11, 11-9).
After the team outcome had been decided, Sarah Cao earned her four-game victory over Eliza Mills
The women's team returns to action on Saturday, November 18, when it takes on Stanford. That match will take place at a neutral location in Princeton, New Jersey. Both Columbia teams then return to the SL Green StreetSquash Center on Sunday, November 19, to host St. Lawrence.
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