Women have poor showing at nationals, lose all three games

Columbia (12-3) came into the Women’s National Team Championships on a wave of momentum—the team had handily won its last three games and, a few days ago, was picked as the most improved team in the nation. Nevertheless, the women’s squash team crossed the finish line with a whimper, losing all three of its matches in its bracket pool, the Kurtz Cup (B Division).

Last season, the team experienced its greatest success at the same event, winning the Epps Cup to finish 25th overall. This year, because of the team’s rise from the D Division bracket to B Division competition, the competition was much tougher.

The Kurtz Cup tournament, which was in single-elimination bracket format, included rival No. 9 Brown at the top seed and No. 15 George Washington University as the lowest seed. Columbia was seeded at No. 14.

In the first match, Columbia lost 6-3 to No. 11 Williams. In that loss, No. 2 freshman Katie Quan saw her 10-match win streak snapped.

In the second round, the Lions played against No. 10 Middlebury, which was upset in its first round of play. A month ago, Middlebury spoiled Columbia’s home debut, defeating the Lions 7-2. This time, although Columbia played better, the team still dropped the match 6-3.

In the last team match of the campaign, Columbia faced off against No. 15 George Washington University, a team that Columbia defeated 6-3 early on in the season. This time, Columbia couldn’t secure the win, dropping the match 5-4. Senior co-captain Anne Cheng, playing at No. 6, lost a tight five-set contest, and Katie Quan dropped a close four-set match.

Columbia will next compete in the Individual Championships from Mar. 4-6 at Hanover, N.H.