Northampton, MA — For the week ending 1/26/2014, Trinity’s Kanzy El DeFrawy and Catalina Pelaez and George Washington’s Nicolas Valderrama have been named the co-women’s and men’s [hpow].
A [hpow] should have a significant impact on his or her team’s performance during the prior week and demonstrate sportsmanship. Coaches and Sports Information Directors may nominate players.
Kanzy El DeFrawy and Catalina Pelaez (Trinity College): With Trinity down 1-4 at Yale, it seemed the match was out of hand. Playing at #2, senior co-captain Catalina Pelaez was down 0-2 against Yale’s Kimberley Hay. Against the odds, she battled back to capture the match in five games (3-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, and 11-4). With the match tied at 4-4, #1 Kanzy El DeFrawy dropped the first game to Yale’s Millie Tomlinson, but she rebounded to win the individual (5-11, 11-5, 11-7, and 11-2) and team match. According to coach Wendy Bartlett, “Our last shift is as tough as they come and I knew we had a good chance after Cata won at No. 2. I am extremely proud of this team.”
Nicolas Valderrama (George Washington): At the Yale Round Robin on Saturday, George Washington upset Bowdoin by winning the top five ladder positions. The #2 match between Nicolas Valderrama and Matthew Cooper was critical to each team. Tied at 1-1, Cooper appeared to have the upper hand by winning the third game in tie-breakers, but Valderrama captured the fourth. The fifth game was a marathon, which resulted in Valderrama’s 19-17 victory (11-7, 8-11, 11-13, 11-2, and 19-17).
