Virginia defeated women’s squash Tuesday, giving the Colonials their second loss of the season.
The No. 11 Cavaliers (3–0) beat the No. 15 Colonials (1–2) 8–1, with GW’s only win coming from junior Zoe Foo Yuk Han. The women’s team closed the second half of the annual Washington-Jefferson Cup, and after the loss Tuesday coupled with the men’s team’s loss Friday, Virginia claimed the cup.
Head coach Anderson Good said he thought the matchup served as a good opportunity for the team to assess its progress.
“We knew it was going to be a tough test,” Good said. “Some people, from where they were last year, were playing at higher spots and the level of competition was a bit more difficult. And I think a lot of our players played up to that level of play.”
Six Colonials extended their matches past three games, and five games were decided in extra points. Five Colonials won at least one game, with senior captain Engy Elmandouh pushing the No. 2 match to five games before falling to freshman Maria Moya. The match was an improvement from the squad’s loss to Princeton Sunday, where seven players were swept cleanly in three games.
“I think that’s a really good first step moving forward,” Foo Yuk han said. “These girls are getting much better.”
Foo Yuk Han, playing in the No. 1 spot, earned her third straight individual win of the season against sophomore Emma Jinks, who she beat twice last season. Each time the two met, the match extended to four games, with Foo Yuk Han coming out victorious.
“She’s always a fighter, she never quits, she fights for every point, so it was crucial for me to make sure I win every single point,” Foo Yuk Han said. “If I lose one point, getting back that one point is really, really hard.”
Foo Yuk Han added that keeping her game error-free was the key to her victory.
“My game’s always really basic,” Foo Yuk Han said. “So I just really try to not make a lot of tins, no-influence errors. Just really hit the ball, think about getting it tight to the wall.”
The squad won its first game of the season against Georgetown Friday before falling to Princeton Sunday. While the team did not expect to upset No. 4 Princeton, Good said he hopes that it could beat Virginia the next time the two cross paths.
“UVA and us are at a solid level, I think,” Good said. “We get them again in our conference championships in February, and I firmly believe that in February we can reverse that result.”
Foo Yuk Han said the rivalry between the two teams will continue, despite the Colonials’ loss.
“The UVA team, it’s always getting better year by year,” Foo Yuk Han said. “So we knew it was going to be tough coming up against them. But they’re always going to be our rivals.”
The team has one more weekend of competition before a more than month-long break from matches and a return to competition in January. The squad will take on No. 8 Pennsylvania at home Saturday before hitting the road to face No. 6 Columbia Sunday in what Good said will be a tough weekend of competition.
“The Ivies are always a tough test,” Good said. “So again, it’ll just be another measure to see where we are as a group.”
The squad is back in action Saturday to end its four-game homestand against Pennsylvania. Play begins at 11 a.m.
