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After a third place finish at the Kurtz Cup in late February, a postseason tournament in the B Division of the College Squash Association (CSA) Team Championships, the Virginia women’s squash program rounded out their season with a mark of 18-7 and a national ranking of 11.
In what was just their second season as a Division I program, Virginia showed progress in 2018-19 under Head Coach Mark Allen, recording four more wins than in the year previous and earning a pair of wins over Ivy League programs - a first for the team.
UVA Women’s Squash Two Year Results
Two Year Results
| Year | Record | Versus D-I Teams | Postseason Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Record | Versus D-I Teams | Postseason Result |
| 2018-2019 | 18-7 | 11-7 | Kurtz Cup (B Division) - Third Place |
| 2017-2018 | 14-9 | 8-9 | Kurtz Cup (B Division) - Consolation Winners |
2019 Recap
2019 Stars: Emma Jinks, Caroline Baldwin, Amanda Haywood, Tara Arya, Emily Woodworth
After breezing through three club teams - Richmond, Georgetown, and North Carolina - to start the season 3-0, the team entered a daunting stretch, facing perennial powers Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Columbia, and Cornell. Though they dropped five of their next six, the Hoos battled against some of the nation’s best, notably losing to sixth-ranked Penn by just one match, 5-4. For their efforts, the team’s first breakthrough came against No. 8 Cornell in early December, as the Cavaliers topped the Big Red, 6-3.
Solid wins over Williams, Middlebury (x2), and George Washington (x2), as well as a loss to No. 4 Yale at home highlighted the latter half of regular season play. Virginia would also go on to win a pair of Mid-Atlantic team round-robin tournaments.
At the CSA Team Championships in Hartford, Connecticut, UVA trounced Middlebury 9-0 before falling to Cornell in the semifinals, 6-3. A win against Brown on the tournament’s final day, 6-3, gave the team its second win over an Ivy League foe, ending the season on a high note.
In the Holleran Cup at the CSA Individual Championships, freshman Emma Jinks made it all the way to the finals of the main draw before losing to Trinity’s Vanessa Raj in four sets, while fellow freshman Mandy Haywood would go on to win the South Consolation final against Drexel’s Ona Prokes. Sophomore Emily Woodworth also earned runner-up in the North consolation bracket.
2020 Outlook
Key Returners: Emma Jinks, Caroline Baldwin, Amanda Haywood, Tara Arya, Emily Woodworth
All of UVA’s top players from 2018-19 will return to Charlottesville in the fall - great news for a team that looks to continue building momentum in year three of Division I life. With this is mind, expect Virginia to keep inching closer towards the top of the national landscape.
As always, matches against the Ivy League, the epicenter of college squash, should be good indicators of the program’s progression. The team will hope to capture at least two wins, if not more, against the conference, as they did this past season.