New Haven, CT — Trinity’s upset 6-3 win over Princeton earned the Bantams a spot in the finals of the 2013 Women’s National Team Championships. Dartmouth advanced to the B finals, and Wesleyan and Bowdoin will play for the C title.
A Division (Howe Cup): The blizzard last weekend injected some mystery into the first A Division semifinal. Princeton and Trinity were scheduled to play, but the snowstorm that blanketed much of the Northeast put the kibosh on those plans. Princeton, the top seed coming into the tournament, would face fourth-seeded Trinity sight unseen. It was close from the first flight of matches. Princeton won at number 9, and Trinity won at 6 and 3; all three of the matches went past three games. Princeton evened the score in the next round with Libby Eyre’s five-game win at 2 and Tara Harrington’s 3-0 win at number 8.. Trinity stayed in it thanks to Robyn Hodgson’s 3-1 win at number 5. It wasn’t until the final flight that the result was decided. Trinity first-year Kanzy El Defrawy’s 3-0 win over Princeton senior captain Julie Cerullo gave the Bantams the fifth match and a shot at the national title. The final score was 6-3. The other semifinal, Harvard-Penn, is currently on court. Yale blanked Brown to power into the consolation finals.
B Division (Kurtz Cup): Dartmouth swept into the B Division with a 9-0 win over Columbia. The top-seeded Big Green won five matches 3-0, but the Lions put up a fight, taking four matches past the third game. Middlebury and Bates are currently on court, playing for the other spot in the B final. George Washington advanced into the consolation finals with a 7-2 win over Amherst.
C Division (Walker Cup): Top-seeded Wesleyan advanced to their second Walker Cup final in two years with a 7-2 over Drexel. Last year, the Cardinals lost to George Washington in the C finals; this time around they will face Bowdoin. The Polar Bears earned their championship berth in the most dramatic fashion possible. Coming into the final flight of Bowdoin-Hamilton matches, the score was tied 3-all. A 3-0 win from Hamilton’s Amanda Thorman at number 1 and a five-game win from Bowdoin’s Alden Drake at number 4 shifted the fate of the match to the number 4 contest. Hamilton junior Hillary Kolodner pulled out to a 2-1 lead over Bowdoin senior captain Bonnie Cao. Cao fought back, forcing a fifth game, and she jumped out to a 7-3 lead. Kolodner went on a run and evened the score at 7-all. The two traded points, and whenever it looked like Cao would close out the match, Kolodner came back, eventually tying the score at 10-all. Cao took the next two points and the match, giving Bowdoin the upset victory and a spot in the C finals. In consolation action, Mount Holyoke defeated Wellesley. The Lyons will play Colby in the consolation finals.
D Division (Epps Cup): William Smith and Virginia advanced to the D Division finals earlier in the day. Georgetown swept Vassar to advance to the consolation finals.
E Division: Smith College defeated NYU 7-2. Smith seniors Eunice Zhao and Szilvi Kiss both posted 3-0 wins. NYU will be back in action later today, when they take on Haverford. Who Smith plays tomorrow will depens on the results of the other round robin and the outcome of the Haverford/NYU match, all scheduled for this evening.
Emerging Teams Division: Emerging Teams play resumes this evening, when Washington University will take on Vanderbilt and Minnesota will face Notre Dame.
