No. 7 Women’s Squash Storms Past No. 5 Penn in Howe Cup Seventh-Place Match

Sunday, February 23

New Haven, Conn.

9 a.m.

Drexel University

Penn

Photo by: Gavin Baker

No. 7 Women’s Squash Storms Past No. 5 Penn in Howe Cup Seventh-Place Match

2/23/2020 12:18:00 PM | Women's Squash

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The seventh-seeded Drexel women's squash team stared defeat in the eyes on Sunday morning but dared not blink. Down 4-1 to No. 5 Penn, the Dragons (12-8) won four must-win matches to top the rival Quakers (8-8) in the seventh-place match of the Howe Cup, adding yet another memorable moment to a season to remember.

Drexel turns in a second-consecutive seventh-place finish in the Howe Cup to match its best-ever finish at the College Squash Association Team Championships and sets a new program record for wins in a season with 12.

A hot start from Penn put the Dragons on the brink of defeat. The Quakers logged wins in the No. 3, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 9 matches, two of which came in five games. Anna Hughes led Julia Buchholz, 2-1, after three games in the No. 3 match, but successive victories in the fourth and fifth games gave Buchholz the 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory. Ciara Richards erased a 2-0 deficit to force a deciding game before dropping the No. 6 match to Navmi Sharma – 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9.

Only Hannah Blatt found success in the early portion of the day. She swept Ashley Manning, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7, in the No. 4 position to keep the door open for her teammates.

The Dragons looked to the top position to ignite the rally, and Karina Tyma delivered in short order. The freshman swept Jessica Davis, 11-5, 11-6, 11-3, in the No. 1 match to make the match score 4-2. Tyma is now 10-7 in her debut season with all 17 appearances coming in the top flight.

Drexel's comeback was at risk of ending before it truly began in earnest as Stephanie Ryan and Eujung Park went the distance in the No. 8 match. Ryan started on the right foot with an 11-8 win in the opener before stumbling in the next two games, 11-9 and 11-8. The junior from Dublin, Ireland kept herself and her team alive with an emphatic 11-4 win in the fourth game.

Ryan needed yet another comeback in the decisive fifth game after falling behind, 6-2. Park did not win another point from there as Ryan closed out with nine unanswered to make the team score 4-3. Ryan is now 6-1 in her last seven matches and has 10 wins in a single season for the first time in her career.

Ona Prokes followed that nervy Ryan win with a clean 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 sweep of Amina Tamer in the No. 5 position to set up a winner-take-all clash between Alina Bushma and Jamila Tamer in the No. 2 match.

Bushma made her intentions known early with an emphatic 11-0 shutout win in the first game and followed with an 11-7 victory in the second. Tamer prolonged what by now felt inevitable with an 11-5 win in the third game before an 11-7 Bushma winner in the fourth.

The win is the seventh in a row for Bushma, who has dropped just one game in that span. Her season record improves to 15-2, and she joins Ryan Morgan and Fiona Power for the second-most wins in a single season at Drexel. The sophomore from Kyiv, Ukraine is now just two wins shy of the all-time mark.

Bushma will have the opportunity to surpass Blatt's marks of 17 wins in a season at the CSA Individual Championships, which run March 5-8 at the Penn Squash Center in Philadelphia.

No. 7 Drexel 5, No. 5 Penn 4
1 | Karina Tyma def. Jessica Davis, 11-5, 11-6, 11-3
2 | Alina Bushma def. Jamila Tamer, 11-0, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7
3 | Julia Buchholz def. Anna Hughes, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9
4 | Hannah Blatt def. Ashley Manning, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7
5 | Ona Prokes def. Amina Tamer, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4
6 | Navmi Sharma def. Ciara Richards, 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9
7 | Lindsay Stanley def. Brooke Herring, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5
8 | Stephanie Ryan def. Eujung Park, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-6
9 | Haley Scott def. Lara Varma, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5