Women’s squash wins Kurtz Cup

The Quakers captured the second-division title after weekend wins over Bowdoin, Stanford, and Dartmouth

VIVIAN YAO Sports Associate

Despite missing out on the Division A Howe Cup Championship, Penn women’s squash dominated its competition throughout the weekend and claimed the Kurtz Cup.

After a commanding 9-0 performance against No. 16 Bowdoin on Friday, the Quakers proceeded to grind out a slightly more competitive 6-3 win against No. 12 Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 18. Here, the depth of the Penn roster really showed with the bottom portions of the lineup going 6-0 en route to the win. Penn’s fifth win of the day, which clinched their spot in the finals, came from senior Eujung Park — who defeated Stanford sophomore Isabella Rolfe 3-1.

However, Saturday also featured a moment of panic, when Penn freshman Malak Taha suffered an ankle injury early into her second game against Stanford junior Si Yi Ma. Taha, who was recently named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in addition to receiving first-team All-Ivy honors, had become a pivotal part of the team’s lineup, often playing in the number one position.

With Taha injured against Dartmouth, Sunday’s match featured nine different matchups compared to the first time the two teams faced off on Jan. 21 in Hanover, N.H.

“Our number one player was out,” Penn’s senior captain Ashley Manning said about Dartmouth. “Everyone was playing a new player today, which was definitely a little bit nerve wracking, but we were [also] excited to just go in and get a good match and play as well as we can.”

The changes didn’t seem to influence Penn’s performance too much; the team won 8-1 back in January, and in the finals, the Quakers swept the Big Green 9-0.

One of the most exciting matches on Sunday was sophomore Grace Lavin’s 3-2 win over Dartmouth senior Neeya Patel – where Lavin overcame a 2-1 deficit. In the longest game of the day, taking 44 minutes, Lavin set the tone for the gritty “get it done” mentality shared by the rest of the Penn team. The match was also oddly reminiscent of Lavin’s performance last month where she also came back from 2-1 and won against Dartmouth senior Jesse Brownell.

Another highlight of the day came when senior Eujung Park pulled out with the win against Dartmouth junior Priya Verma. After losing the first game 11-1, Park fought back and ultimately won 3-2. To secure the sweep, Penn freshman Natasha Pensler took 43 minutes in a back-and-forth battle against Dartmouth junior Ellie Burke before emerging with yet another 3-2 win.

The season has been full of ups and downs for the Quakers. After placing sixth at the Division A Championships last year, missing out on the tournament as a whole was disappointing, especially for the seniors on the team.

Despite all this, Penn women’s squash’s dominance in the Kurtz Cup shows that the team is eager to show that it belongs with the eight teams ranked above it from this year. And by capping off the season with such a decisive win, the team is eager to show that it is headed in the right direction.

“It certainly wasn’t where we had hoped to end up all season but ending with a win is certainly a good feeling,” said junior team captain Avni Anand. “It’s definitely great momentum and we have lot of plans for next year, so we are excited to get that going.”

Women’s swimming breaks program, conference, pool records at Ivy championships

The Quakers had podium sweeps in several events, but still finished in sixth place overall

VALERI GUEVARRA Sports Reporter

Penn women’s swimming and diving left the DeNunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J. with multiple new program records, a pair of Ivy titles, and a new Ivy League record set by senior Anna Kalandadze.

After a disappointing first day where Penn finished seventh in the 200-yard medley relay and sixth in the 800 freestyle relay, Kalandadze created some momentum for the Quakers on the second day after leading a 1-2-3 Quaker finish during preliminaries of the 500 free, setting them up as the favorites going into the evening finals.

During finals, Kalandadze won the 500 free and led another 1-2-3 Red and Blue finish. Defending two-time Ivy League champion in the 1650 free and fellow senior Catherine Buroker finished in second and freshman Anna Moehn followed two seconds later in third. This result is eerily similar to last year, when Penn recorded a 1-2-4 finish in the 500 free with now-graduated Lia Thomas, Buroker, and Kalandadze, respectively. Kalandadze’s time of 4:38.58 not only set a pool record but also earned her Arena Swim of the Week and the ninth-best time in the country this season.

More records continued to be set on the third day, when sophomore Izzy Pytel broke Penn’s 100 breaststroke record with a time of 1:01.63. She finished in sixth place in a tight A-final where the difference between third and sixth place was only 0.27 seconds. In the 400 individual medley, Kalandadze moved up from 28th on the psych sheets to third — finishing finals with a time of 4:15.13, adding another medal to her collection.

On the final day of championships, Kalandadze’s final individual event of the meet cemented her as a swimmer to watch this championship season. In another déjà vu moment, she led a podium sweep for the Quakers, and in a Katie Ledecky-like fashion, she won the 1650 free by over 25 seconds and broke three different records at once: a 14-year-old Ivy League record, Penn’s record set by Thomas last season, and a DeNunzio pool record. The 1-2-3 finish showcased Penn’s youth talent with freshmen Sydney Bergstrom and Anna Moehn following Kalandadze in second and third place, respectively.

In addition, Pytel broke another record during the third day’s prelims: her 200 breaststroke personal record with a time of 2:13.75. After finishing fourth at her Ivy League championships debut last year, she returned to A-finals and raced to a strong fifth place finish following some strong freshman talent from the Bulldogs and Tigers. Two-time Ivy League finalist in the 200 breast and fellow sophomore Anna Boeckman finished the A-final in eighth place.

At the end of the meet, Kalandadze was named first team All-Ivy and tied for second-most individual points with 91 — five points shy of the title of High Point Swimmer of the Meet. Despite multiple records being smashed and several top finishes, the Quakers didn’t return to their program-high 1,256 points from last year’s Ivys. This time around, Penn finished in sixth place with 832 points — besting Cornell and Dartmouth. Home team Princeton took the crown — collecting 1,480 points — and defending champion Harvard took second with 1,254 points.

Penn women’s swimming and diving season is not done yet, though, with select swimmers and divers heading to Annapolis, Md. next weekend for the ECAC Championship before NCAA Championships next month.