PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Playing for the Walker Cup (C Division) Championship,
Leandra Sze '26 came through with the clinching point at #6, winning in four sets to give the No. 21 ranked Wesleyan women's squash team a 5-4 win over No. 22 Franklin & Marshall on Sunday morning. This marks the first CSA Division Team Championship C Division title in team history in what was the Cardinals' 16
th all-time appearance in the tournament.
As they have done all season long, the bottom of the Cardinals' lineup came through in big ways as Wesleyan's five team points came via wins from the #4 through #9 positions in the lineup.
Sze's triumph at #6 came over two months after she had lost in the #7 position of the lineup in a December 2 meeting against the Diplomats. Wesleyan lost that match in the regular season, 5-4, but the Cardinals exacted revenge thanks to Sze who toppled Tatum Long with three straight set wins after losing the opener, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9. That win improved Sze's record to 12-6 in 2023-24.
Jaclyn Dichter '26 finished off another impressive campaign as the sophomore finished off a 3-0 sweep at #5, defeating Mia Todd 11-7, 11-7, 11-2. Dichter finishes the season with a record of 14-6, leading the Cardinals in wins for the second straight season to open her career. She sports a career record of 30-10 (.750) as a Cardinal.
Playing in their final collegiate match, both
Laila Kewalramani '24 and
Marangela James '24 dominated their respective matches. Kewalramani picked up her 12
th win of the season with a 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 win over Iman Jaikishan at #7 while James also earned her 12
th win in a near-perfect performance against Anastasia Petroksy at #9, winning 11-0, 11-0, 11-0.
Portia Pliam '25 accounted for the other Cardinal win against F&M, as she took down Joey Ho by a score of 11-9, 11-3, 11-2 at #8, improving her record to 10-3 (team-leading .769 win percentage in 2023-24).
The Cardinals were playing for the C Division title for just the third time, with the last appearances in the title match coming in consecutive seasons in 2012 and 2013.
