Trinity Women's Squash Posts Best Howe Cup Finish In Four Years

Hartford, Conn., August 12, 2009 -The Trinity women's squash team, coached by Wendy Bartlett (25th Season), posted a 12-3 overall record and won its third straight NESCAC Championship title.  The Bantams were selected for the CSA National Team Championship Tournament (Howe Cup) for the 14th straight season, advancing to the semifinals with a 7-2 win over Yale in the quarterfinal round.  Trinity lost a tough, 5-4 match to eventual champion Princeton before closing the season with a 5-4 triumph against Pennsylvania in the Third Place Match to secure its best finish in the Howe Cup since 2006.  Freshman Nour Bahgat (Cairo, Egypt) defeated Kristen Lange, of Penn, 9-5, 9-4, 4-9, 9-7 in the finals to win the College Squash Association (CSA) Women's Singles National Championship (Ramsay Trophy) title at Williams College. Bahgat won four 3-0 matches on Friday and Saturday to reach the final round and completed her rookie season with a flawless record of 17-0.  Sophomore Robyn Williams (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) reached the semifinals of the "b" tournament (Holleran Trophy) with three wins and junior Emily Paton (Victoria, British Columbia) played her way into the quarterfinals of the Holleran Tournament with two wins.

Bahgat and juniors Tehani Guruge (Colombo, Sri Lanka) and Nayelly Hernandez (San Luis Potosi, Mexico) each earned College Squash Association (CSA) All-American honors, while Bahgat was also honored as the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.  Bahgat, Hernandez, and junior co-captain Jo-Ann Jee (Kuching, Malaysia) earned spots on the All-NESCAC First Team, while Guruge joined sophomore Emery Holton (Philadelphia, Pa.) and freshman Pamela Jimenez (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) on the All-NESCAC Second Team.  Jee was also the team's representative on the NESCAC All-Academic Team and on the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team for the second consecutive season.  

In all matches, Trinity posted a combined individual record of 123-38 (104-27 in dual matches). Bahgat finished with the team's most wins and tied for the program's best-ever, single-season record at 17-0, while Williams went 14-2, Paton was 11-3, freshman Andrea Echeverria (San Salvador, El Salvador) was 14-4, and Jee was 11-4.  Hernandez finished with an 11-6 mark, while Guruge was 10-6, Holton was 11-7, and Jimenez closed at 7-6.  Senior co-captain Chauncey Kerr (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) closed her Bantam career with a 2-0 season and a 4-1 career mark, while classmate Alison Holmes (Gates Mills, Ohio) was 4-0 in 2008-09 and 8-2 in her collegiate career.  Senior Ashley Clackson (Victoria, British Columbia), a three-time All-American, finished her career with a 41-18 record but missed all but one match as a senior last winter.