No. 4 Yale Beaten By No. 2 Trinity In 5-4 Nail-Biter
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - In one of the best matches of the college squash season, the No. 2 Trinity Bantams edged No. 4 Yale 5-4 on Wednesday night at the Brady Squash Center.
Yale (8-2, 2-1 Ivy) lost to the Bantams (8-0) despite holding a 4-2 lead through the first six individual matches. Senior captain Alia Aziz, playing at No. 3, earned a 3-0 victory in a dominant performance in the first match of the night against Trinity's Tehani Guruge.
Freshman Katie Ballaine rallied for a 3-1 win at No. 6 after dropping the first game 13-11, and junior Caroline Reigeluth came back from a 2-1 deficit to win in five games at No. 7. At the No. 2 position, Sarah Toomey pulled out a hard-fought victory in four games against Nayelly Hernandez.
After six matches, the Bulldogs led Trinity 4-2, but the Bantams tied the match at 4-all with only the No. 4 match remaining. Fans standing four-deep surrounded Court Two at the Brady Squash Center, where sophomore Rhetta Nadas dropped the first two games to Trinity's Robyn Hodgson. Nadas rallied in the third game, earning an 11-6 win. The fourth game went back-and-forth until Hodgson edged out a 12-10 victory to seal Trinity's victory.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs played extremely well against a potent Trinity squad. Head coach Dave Talbott was surprised with just how well the team played, saying it was "the best match [the Bulldogs] have played in the last two to three years." Talbott added that he was "extremely proud" of his team and is looking forward to hosting the Team Championships in February, where the Bulldogs might get a second shot at Trinity.
Yale will next be in action on Jan. 30, when the Bulldogs travel to New Jersey to face the No. 7 Princeton Tigers. Princeton (3-1, 2-0 Ivy) began the season ranked No. 1, but fell to No. 7 after a season-opening loss to Stanford.
| Yale | Trinity College | Winner's Score | Winner | |
| 1WS | Greer,Logan | Hathway,Pamela | 14-12,11-2,10-12,11-5 | Trinity College |
| 2WS | Toomey,Sarah | Hernandez Perez,Nayelly | 2-11,11-8,13-11,11-9 | Yale |
| 3WS | Aziz,Alia | Guruge,Tehani | 11-4,11-9,11-7 | Yale |
| 4WS | Nadas,Rhetta | Hodgson,Robyn | 11-8,11-7,6-11,12-10 | Trinity College |
| 5WS | Van Arkel,Alexandra | Jee,JoAnn | 11-8,2-11,11-3,12-14,11-3 | Trinity College |
| 6WS | Ballaine,Katie | Rodriguez Acosta,Alicia | 11-13,11-1,11-6,11-8 | Yale |
| 7WS | Reigeluth,Caroline | Holton,Emery | 14-12,7-11,3-11,11-6,11-8 | Yale |
| 8WS | Kerr,Aly | Paton,Emily | 11-7,11-5,11-7 | Trinity College |
| 9WS | Harrison,Katie | Williams,Robyn | 3-11,11-8,11-5,11-3 | Trinity College |
| 10WS | Brown,Carolyn | Jimenez,Pamela | 11-5,11-8,11-7 | Trinity College |
report filed by Alex Milvae '12, Yale Sports Publicity