W. Squash | Opportunity lost

PRINCETON, N.J., - Sydney Scott was growing irritated by Neha Kumar's uncanny shot-making ability.

In the decisive fifth game, after yet another miraculous Kumar recovery, Scott thrust her racquet at the court in frustration at her 4-1 deficit.

Although she did give up the next three points, instead of letting her anger get the best of her, the Penn senior rattled off eight straight points to cap off a captivating performance.

"It was just one of those scenarios where you go into the zone," Scott said, "and you come out and it's seven all."

Scott's excellent effort knotted the score at two apiece for the match. But then things soon unraveled for the No. 2 Quakers.

Penn lost the next three matches as the No. 1 Tigers held on to win, 6-3.

Soon after Scott's nail-biting match, the fans crowded around the number four match, which was in its fifth game. Junior Britt Hebden was in the last stages of her improbable journey against Princeton junior Kaitlin Sennatt. After being down 2 games, she now was in the driver's seat, up 5-0. Sennatt refused to give up and battled back to bring the score to 8-4.

Senatt slowly chipped away at Hebden's lead with long points and unflappable court presence.

"Come on Britt, just one more," a hopeful fan screamed from above the court. But that winning point never came as Senatt completed the comeback and won, 10-8, dealing a heartbreaking blow to Hebden.

"It took a little air out of the Penn team," Princeton coach Gail Ramsay said. "It kind of pumped us up."

Penn coach Jack Wyant, who's name is permanently enshrined on the walls of Jadwin Hall in recognition of his squash career at Princeton where he was an All-American, thought the rest of his squad should have performed at a higher level.

"I think some of the kids could have played a little better," Wyant said. "We have to think about the matches and figure out what we can do better."

Junior Kristin Lange and Sophomore Annie Madeira were the bright spots for Penn (8-1, 3-1 Ivy), securing the other two wins.

With her victory over Princeton junior Amanda Siebert, Lange remains undefeated against her in contests that date back to before college.

"Kristen is a great player," Ramsay said. "Amanda was pleased with her performance."

Penn senior Emily Goodwin had to retire after sustaining a knee injury early in the second game of her match. The extent of her injury could be a factor in the important remaining matches against Harvard and Dartmouth.

"We're all going to spend some time thinking of one thing that we can improve upon before we play Harvard," Scott said.

The Quakers know they need to become more consistent during big points. Even though they lost 6-3, the Quakers were only swept in one match.

"A lot of the big points weren't played as well as they could have been," Scott said.

With this loss, the Quakers drop to third place in the Ancient Eight, while the Tigers claim the No. 1 spot all to themselves.

But don't count the Quakers out just yet. Princeton (7-0, 3-0) still faces powerhouses Harvard and Yale.

And considering that the Red and Blue beat Princeton in the regular season and then went on to lose to the Tigers in the Howe Cup final last year, "there's a lot still to play for," Wyant said.

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