Virginia women’s squash was back in action Monday for the first time in over a month when they traveled to California to take on Stanford. In a bout between conference foes who are both MASC championship contenders, the Cavaliers (4-3, 0-1 MASC) were defeated by the Cardinal (4-0, 1-0 MASC) by a 6-3 margin.
Stanford started the matches with a point to prove, quickly obtaining a 4-0 lead. Highlighted by freshman Riya Navani defeating Virginia’s reliable graduate Meagan Best in a first position upset, positions five, seven and eight were all marked as wins for the Cardinal. Navani, along with four of her teammates, have yet to lose during the campaign.
Senior Maureen Foley broke the Cavalier deadlock playing from the sixth position, improving to 4-2 on the year. Foley’s streaky runs of form from previous years seem to be a thing of the past, and she has been one of Virginia’s most solid contributors throughout this season.
The Cavaliers’ success turned out to be short-lived, as freshman Maria Min’s loss in the third position clinched the win for Stanford. Although the rest of the games were a formality, junior Lina Tammam and freshman Claire Pellegrino earned victories in the second and ninth positions, respectively. Tammam is now 4-2 on the season, and Pellegrino is an impressive 6-0 in her first collegiate campaign.
If Monday’s contest was any indicator of Virginia’s chances to win their conference in early March, then there is work to be done. The Cavaliers will need to combine their wealth of experience in the higher positions with the new, raw talent in the lower positions to make a splash in February.
Virginia will hope to get back to their winning ways over the weekend when they face Dickinson and Drexel Saturday and Sunday. The games are set to start at 1 p.m. and noon, respectively.
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