HomeArticles2017 Women's National Team Championships: Day 1 Evening Report

2017 Women’s National Team Championships: Day 1 Evening Report

Princeton, NJ — The first day of the Women’s National Team Championships has come to a close.

A Division (Howe Cup): Trinity is looking to make a run for the Howe Cup this season. Against Stanford in the regular season, the Bantams earned a 9-0 victory. That said, early last season Stanford shocked Trinity with a 5-4 victory. Trinity stayed focused today and defeated Stanford, 9-0. The 4/5 matchup is always intriguing. When Princeton and Yale squared off in the regular season, Princeton won the bottom five matches to claim the match 5-4. On Princeton’s home courts today, the Tigers had a slightly easier time, advancing 6-3.

In tomorrow’s semifinals, Harvard will face Princeton and Penn will meet Trinity.

B Division (Kurtz Cup):  Dartmouth, last season’s Kurtz Cup winners, are seeking their 4th overall Kurtz Cup. The Cup is named for Aggie Bixler Kurtz, the long-time Dartmouth coach. The Big Green are heavy favorites this year after solid wins against fellow Kurtz Cup competitors during the regular season. Against Middlebury in the regular season, Dartmouth had a shut out, and they repeated that performance in today’s quarterfinal.

George Washington and Virginia split their regular season meetings. So it is fitting that the pair of Mason Dixon line schools met in the highly contested 11/12 match up. George Washington advanced with a 7-2 victory over Virginia. In December, Williams hosted and defeated Drexel. Despite the 7-2 regular season score, that regular season match was tight until the final wave of matches. On a neutral site for both teams today, Drexel upset Williams with a 5-4 victory.

Brown faced the 2016 Walker Cup (C Division) winner Bates in the opening round of the Kurtz Cup. The Bears defeated the Bobcats, 6-3, to continue their quest for their fourth Kurtz Cup in the past eight seasons.

In tomorrow’s semifinals, Dartmouth will face George Washington, and Brown will meet Drexel.

C Division (Walker Cup): In tomorrow’s semifinals, F&M will face will face Tufts, and Amherst will meet William Smith.

D Division (Epps Cup): The 4:00 PM matches at Lawrenceville featured a trio of Epps Cup matches . Top-seeded Colby opened with Bucknell. The Mules defeated Bucknell, 9-0. Mount Holyoke, this season’s Seven Sisters Champions, had a rematch with Vassar. At the Seven Sisters Tournament, the Lyons defeated Vassar, 8-1. In today’s rematch, Mount Holyoke advanced with a 7-2 victory. Wellesley and Conn College met twice in the regular season with the Blue Pride defeating Conn College twice. Yet, the margin of victory slimmed to 5-4 in the second meeting, which made today’s rematch a potential upset. However, Wellesley held off Conn College, 5-4.

In the 6:00 PM match, Hamilton faced Northeastern. Hamilton defeated the Huskies, 8-1.

In tomorrow’s semifinals, Colby will face will face Mount Holyoke and Hamilton will meet Wellesley.

E Division: The E Division features seven teams and is being played in a round robin format. In Pool A, Georgetown defeated Rochester 9-0, and Smith and Fordham are playing in the last match of the day. In Pool B, Haverford defeated Washington in St. Louis 6-3. Round robin play continues on Saturday.

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