March 4, 2008

Stanford #1 Lily Lorentzen dropped just one match over the weekend to win the Ramsay Cup 2nd Round Consolation and capture ninth place in the individual national championships. Only the top thirty-two players in the nation qualify for the Ramsay Cup, which was held this past weekend from February 29 to March 2 at the U.S. Naval Academy. This was the third straight year that Lorentzen, ranked No. 12 in the nation in the CSA January rankings, qualified for the Ramsay Cup. Lorentzen won the individual title her freshman year at Harvard, and lost to #2 ranked Kristen Lange in the Round of 16 last year. She is currently ranked 9th in the nation and is a first-team All-American.

In the first round of the tournament, Lorentzen defeated #18 Britt Hebden in five games, 3-9, 9-3, 0-9, 9-3, 9-2. Next up for Lorentzen was #24 Alisha Mashruwala. Mashruwala also had a tough first-round match, defeating Pamela Anckermann of Mount Holyoke 10-8, 10-8, 9-10, 9-1. Lorentzen came out strong against Mashruwala, taking the first two games 9-2, 9-4, before dropping the third 9-0. Lorentzen fought back in the fourth game, but Mashruwala triumphed 10-9 in the fourth and then claimed the fifth game 9-0.

In the quarterfinals of the 2nd Round Consolation, Lorentzen quickly dispatched #27 Ashley Malenchak 9-0, 9-7, 9-3. Next up for Lorentzen was #6 Sydney Scott. Scott came out strong, taking the first game 9-6, but Lorentzen fought back to win the second game 10-8, and then the next two games 9-6, 9-0, to move into the consolation finals against #5 Ashley Clackson. Lorentzen cruised through in just three games 9-6, 9-0, 9-5 to win the match and the #9 finish.

#1 Miranda Ranieri from Yale won the Ramsey Cup Individual Intercollegiate Championship defeating last year's finalist, #2 ranked Kristen Lange from U. of Penn while #17 Sarah Toomey defeated #13 Jackie Moss to win the 1st round consolation draw.

Ramsay Cup:
Round of 32: Lily Lorentzen def. Britt Hebden, 3-2: 3-9, 9-3, 0-9, 9-3, 9-2
Round of 16: Alisha Mashruwala def. Lily Lorentzen, 3-2: 2-9, 4-9, 9-0, 10-9, 9-0

Ramsay Cup, 2nd Round Consolation:
Quarters: Lily Lorentzen def. Ashley Malenchak, 3-0: 9-0, 9-7, 9-3
Semis: Lily Lorentzen def. Sydney Scott, 3-1: 6-9, 10-8, 9-6, 9-0
Finals: Lily Lorentzen def. Ashley Clackson, 3-0: 9-6, 9-0, 9-5