HARTFORD, Conn. - No. 4 Stanford put the finishing touches on its best Howe Cup performance in school history, upsetting No. 2 Princeton 5-4 on Sunday morning for a third-place finish at the CSA National Championships.
Rebounding from a 9-0 loss to four-time defending champion Harvard yesterday in the semifinals, Stanford (8-5) delivered a pair of program-defining milestones over the weekend.
On Friday, the Cardinal defeated No. 5 Yale, winning an opening-round match for the first time. On Sunday, Stanford shook off its semifinal loss and defeated Princeton for only the second time in 16 meetings.
Freshman Elena Wagenmans rallied past Hiu Lam Lui 12-10, 4-11, 6-11, 11-6, 14-12 at the No. 1 spot, clinching Stanford's first win over the Tigers since a 6-3 victory in 2009.
Wagenmans' effort was a similar recipe to Stanford's 5-4 triumph over Yale two days earlier, when Caroline Neave pulled through for the clincher with all eyes focused on her match. Since losing 10 of 13 to the Bulldogs, the Cardinal now owns bragging rights in that series having won four of the last five matchups.
Against the Tigers (14-3) in the third-place match, the Cardinal received victories from its top four players, with Casey Wong, Chloe Chemtob and Neave joining Wagenmans. Juliette Love also contributed a five-set win at the No. 8 spot, shaking off a two-set deficit to complete a key comeback.
Sunday marked the final match for seniors Caroline Kimmel, Anna Marie Manning, Grayson Melby, Lucy Rowe and Tara Shannon. Six of the Cardinal's nine lineup regulars will return in 2020.
Additionally, Stanford was honored with this year's College Squash Association's Chafee Award for Team Sportsmanship.
Feb. 24 (Third-Place Match): No. 4 Stanford 5, No. 2 Princeton 4
1's: Elena Wagenmans (STAN) d. Hiu Lam Lui (PRINCE) 12-10, 4-11, 6-11, 11-6, 14-12
2's: Casey Wong (STAN) d. Raneem El Torky (PRINCE) 11-5, 4-8, retired
3's: Chloe Chemtob (STAN) d. Elle Ruggiero (PRINCE) 11-7, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5
4's: Caroline Neave (STAN) d. M. Grace Doyle (PRINCE) 11-5, 11-6, 12-10
5's: Samantha Chai (PRINCE) d. Tara Shannon (STAN) 11-1, 11-5, 11-5
6's: Emme Leonard (PRINCE) d. Lucy Rowe (STAN) 11-4, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6
7's: Andrea Toth (PRINCE) d. Amita Gondi (STAN) 11-1, 15-17, 11-3, 11-4
8's: Juliette Love (STAN) d. Morgan Steelman (STAN) 6-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6
9's: Isabel Hirschberg (PRINCE) d. Anna Marie Manning (STAN) 11-7, 11-6, 11-4
Feb. 23 (Semifinals): No. 1 Harvard 9, No. 4 Stanford 0
1's: Sabrina Sobhy (HAR) d. Elena Wagenmans (STAN) 11-6, 11-3, 12-10
2's: Gina Kennedy (HAR) d. Casey Wong (STAN) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7
3's: Amelia Henley (HAR) d. Chloe Chemtob (STAN) 11-3, 11-8, 11-2
4's: Kayley Leonard (HAR) d. Caroline Neave (STAN) 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7
5's: Amina Yousry (HAR) d. Tara Shannon (STAN) 11-8, 11-2, 12-10
6's: Hana Moataz (HAR) d. Lucy Rowe (STAN) 11-3, 11-2, 11-2
7's: Eleonore Evans (HAR) d. Amita Gondi (STAN) 11-9, 11-3, 11-7
8's: Sophie Mehta (HAR) d. Juliette Love (STAN) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4
9's: Hannah Craig (HAR) d. Grayson Melby (STAN) 11-7, 11-6, 11-2
Feb. 22 (First Round): No. 4 Stanford 5, No. 5 Yale 4
1's: Lucy Beecroft (YALE) d. Elena Wagenmans (STAN) 12-10, 12-10, 11-7
2's: Helen Teegan (YALE) d. Casey Wong (STAN) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7
3's: Celine Yeap (YALE) d. Chloe Chemtob (STAN) 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7
4's: Caroline Neave (STAN) d. Aishwarya Bhattacharya (YALE) 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 13-11
5's: Emily Sherwood (YALE) d. Tara Shannon (STAN) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
6's: Lucy Rowe (STAN) d. Riya Mital (YALE) 11-9, 11-5, 11-13, 3-11, 12-10
7's: Amita Gondi (STAN) d. Alexis Lazor (YALE) 11-8, 11-5, 11-6
8's: Juliette Love (STAN) d. Nikita Joshi (YALE) 11-9, 11-5, 11-4
9's: Anna Marie Manning (STAN) d. Jessica Yacobucci (YALE) 11-4, 11-4, 7-11, 13-11