STANFORD, Calif. – The biggest home week in program history concluded Sunday, when No. 2 Penn used a fast start to hold off the fifth-ranked Stanford women's squash team, 6-3, at the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation.
It capped a rare and memorable three-match home schedule for the Cardinal, who will travel to the East Coast for the rest of the year. On Thursday night, Stanford lost to top-ranked and defending national champion Harvard, 9-0. On Saturday afternoon, the Cardinal nearly recorded its first-ever victory against No. 6 Yale, leading late in the matches before succumbing, 5-4.
All three contest drew large, enthusiastic crowds, especially Saturday, where it was standing room only at the Stanford Squash Courts. For the first time in school history, the Harvard and Yale matches were streamed live on gostanford.com.
"This is the best we've played against these teams in a long time,'' said Bailey Bondy, one of three senior captains. "Having so much support was huge for us. It definitely lit the fire in our bellies for our matches."
Yale (8-1) came to The Farm for the first time and had never lost to the Cardinal. Led by head coach Dave Talbott, the older brother of Stanford head coach Mark Talbott, the Bulldog won the top three matches, getting a hard-fought 3-2 win from senior Jenny Scherl against talented Cardinal freshman Casey Wong. Cheered on by seven friends with the letters GOCASEY painted on their chests, she battled gamely but fell in the fifth game.
Both players were spent afterward.
"Obviously we're all a little disappointed," Mark Talbott said. "But the more I thought about it, the future looks very bright. We're a young team and building a lot of momentum. A lot of the top players are now considering coming to Stanford and that's a big deal."
The Cardinal received victories from sophomore Tara Shannon at No. 5, junior Christie Huchro at No. 7, junior Tatyanna Dadabbo at No. 8 and Bondy at No. 9. Wong and sophomore Lucy Rowe at No. 6 fell in five games.
There was no letdown Sunday against Penn (5-1). The Quakers' top six players built an insurmountable 6-0 lead, but two matches went five games. The most competitive came at No. 2, where Stanford freshman Chloe Chemtob dopped the first two games to junior Marie Stephan of France, rallied to win the next two, then succumbed in the last.
Stanford received victories from Huchro at No. 7, Dadabbo at No. 8 and Bondy at No. 9.
"I thought the girls played well," said Talbott. "We had a chance to win that match. A of them could have gone either way very easily. Our depth really came through."
The home matches were Stanford's first in three years. Talbott was extremely grateful to Harvard, Yale and Penn for making the trip to the West Coast.
"I am really appreciative," he said. "It's great for our girls and great for our program."
While the Cardinal slipped to 3-4, all defeats have come to top 10 opponents.
Stanford returns to competition next Saturday at Trinity and Sunday at Cornell.
Yale 5, Stanford 4
Jenny Scherl (Y) def. Casey Wong (S), 3-2
Lucy Beecroft (Y) def. Chloe Chemtob (S), 3-0
Celine Yeap (Y) def. CC Ho (S), 3-0
Shiyuan Mao (Y) def. Sarah Bell (S), 3-1
Tara Shannon (S) def. Jen Davis (Y), 3-1
Jocelyn Lehman (Y) def. Lucy Rowe (S), 3-2
Christie Huchro (S) def. Emily Sherwood (Y), 3-1
Tatyanna Dadabbo (S) def. Selena Maity (Y), 3-1
Bailey Bondy (S) def. Jessica Yacobucci (Y), 3-0
Penn 6, Stanford 3
Reeham Salah (P) def. Casey Wong (S), 11-0, 11-3, 11-6
Marie Stephan (P) def. Chloe Chemtob (S), 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 4-11, 11-4
Anaka Alankamony (P) def. CC Ho (S), 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6
Jessica Davis (P) def. Sarah Bell (S), 11-7, 11-7, 11-4
Michelle Wong (P) def. Tara Shannon (S), 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6
Roiwada Attia (P) def. Lucy Rowe (S), 12-10, 11-6, 11-5
Christie Huchro (S) def. Grace Van Arkel (P), 12-10, 11-6, 11-5
Tatyanna Dadabbo (S) def. Lindsay Stanley (P), 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5
Bailey Bondy (S) def. Clare Kearns (P), 11-7, 11-5, 11-6
