Corey Sobotka/Assistant Photo Editor
Both the men’s and women’s squash teams played their first home matches at the Rosenbaum Squash Center this weekend, and both teams swept house. The 2012-13 home opener was a joyous return for both teams as neither Wesleyan squad dropped a match. The home matchup was a much-needed respite after the previous weekend’s trip to MIT for the annual Boston Round Robin, where both teams yielded mixed results and both wound up sporting a 2-2 record to start the season.
On the men’s side, disposing of Colgate was first on the weekend itinerary, and the team did so with ease to kick off the tournament on Saturday. The Cardinals were able to quickly and efficiently exploit all of their opponents’ weaknesses in their matches, eventually culminating in nine flawless 3-0 match-up wins. From the top to the bottom of the lineup, the Wesleyan squashers were effective and set the pace in their matches against Colgate, and that success carried over quite well into the next day’s match. Easily fighting off the previous day’s squash hangover, the men’s team produced a duplicate result against the visiting Vassar College, winning all of their matches by the identical 3-0 victories.
The perfect weekend was not meant to be, however, as the Cardinals dropped a match to Tufts University en route to an 8-1 victory. The Cardinals now stand at 5-2 on the year. Guy Davidson ’16 retained his #1 spot after going 2-2 in Boston and solidified his position with an undefeated weekend. Also notable was #4 Daniel Sneed, who has yet to lose a match on the season. On the weekend, five players went undefeated: Davidson, Sneed, Al Nuñez ’14, Cameron Rahbar ’15, and Raheem Logan ’16.
The women’s squash team had quite a productive weekend, playing five matches over the course of a two-day span. The heavy workload wasn’t a problem for the Cards, who cruised to a perfect 5-0 weekend. The Cardinals started the party with two decisive 9-0 victories over NESCAC opponent Tufts and fellow Boston Round Robin participant Wellesley College. In the second match of the tournament, the Cards completely shut down Wellesley, winning every match 3-0. The Cardinals finished off a hectic match day against a more formidable Smith College squad that forced the Cards to drop a match—but nothing more than that, as the Cardinals still took an 8-1 victory.
The well-conditioned Cardinals squad showed no signs of weakness or fatigue on the second day of the tournament when they handled squads from William Smith and Vassar with decisive 8-1 victories. Taking over the #1 spot for the Cardinals on the weekend was co-captain Grace Zimmerman ’13, who faced a bevy of opponents and collected a single victory in her five matches on the tiring weekend. Annie Maxwell ’15 found comfort at her new #2 position, posting a 5-0 record for the weekend and setting the pace for the rest of her fellow Cards. Lauren Nelson ’15 also proved impressive by posting an identical 5-0 mark at the #3 spot. The Cardinals left the tournament feeling fresh and sporting a 7-2 record that they hope to improve on as they take on Mount Holyoke at home this Wednesday, Dec. 5. The men will have a bit more time to rest before their next match on Friday, Dec. 7 against Conn College.