MEN’S SQUASH
Looking to improve upon last season’s 7-14 record, men’s squash is off to a good start with a 1-1 record. Bouncing back from a tough loss to the Bowdoin Polar Bears, the Cardinals pulled out a close one against the MIT Beavers.
“We went into the Bowdoin match knowing that they were a better team and that it was much more important to beat MIT, who is closer in the rankings. We were essentially clobbered in the match, as Bowdoin proved to be a very deep team without much discrepancy between their third to eight players,” said Brook Lloyd ’04.
The Polar Bears froze the Cardinals, the only Cardinal win coming from Dave Ziegler ’05, who won by default. Losses were recorded number one Co-Captain Benson Gillespie ’04 (0-3), number two Andy Aylward ’07 (0-3), number three Andrew Rozas ’06 (0-3), number four Dylan Rau ’07 (0-3), number five Omair Sarwar ’06 (0–3), number six James Utterback ’04 (0-3), number seven Thanadon Chantaralawan ’05 (0-3) and number eight Lloyd (0-3).
“We faced MIT twice last winter. We lost 5-4, then beat them in the Division III tournament 5-4, so we have a history of close matches against MIT,” said Lloyd.
It was a different story against the Beavers.
Last season MIT squash slipped past Wesleyan 5-4 in the season finale en route to a No. 18 ranking on the national charts. This time the Cardinals got the better of the Beavers. Number one Benson Gillespie played the deciding match for Wes, with both teams tied at 4-4, and pulled out a 3-1 victory and the Cardinals topped the Beavers 5-4.
The next matches for the Cardinals are at Trinity College against the Hamilton Continentals and the Trinity Bantams. The Continentals are looking to improve upon their 5-7 record from last season and are boasting a 2-2 record so far this season. The Bantams are ranked number one in the College Squash Association and have won the Intercollegiate National Champions for the past five years, so they are sure to give the Cardinals a run for their money.
“I hypothesize an unquantified and super-qualified equilateral ladder of all-angular domination; we’ve improved upon last years ladder and come spring, when we get some abroaders back, you will know us by the trail of dead,” said James Utterback ’04, “We have a great team this year; we lost only two of last year’s top ten players and we’ve gained several more. We will put a hurting on our division.”
WOMEN’S SQUASH
Starting off the season with a 1-8 loss to Wellesley was not what the women’s squash team had hoped for. With only three newcomers on the team and a solid backbone of veterans, the team had looked to start off the season with a win to jumpstart the team spirit. Although Wellesley was coming off a 15-9 record in 2002-03, an almost mirror image of the Cardinals 6-16 season, the Cardinals had hoped to use the game as a turn-around.
Unfortunately only number two seed Co-Captain Dina Guth ’04 squeezed out a 3-1 win against her opponent. Number one seed Sa Suwanarat ’04 (2-3), number three seed Kristen Lehner ’04 (0-3), number four seed Alya Frankel ’04 (0-3) number five seed Sarah Hopkins ’06 (1-3), number six seed Brigid Dwyer ’05 (2-3), number seven seed Rachel Epstein ’04 (0-3), number eight seed Intan Nurhati ’05 (1-3), and number nine seed Mary Livingston ’04 (0-3) all recorded losses.“Everyone played well and I think the match was closer than the score, 1-8, would make it seem. Dina Guth…was the only girl to win but for a lot of the girls on the team this was their first squash match ever,” said Dwyer. “ I think we have a really good chance of beating Wellesley when we meet them again later in the season after Winter Break.”
Another 0-9 to loss the Mount Holyoke Lyons, leaves the Cardinals with a 0-2 record.
The next match for the Cardinals is Friday, Dec. 5 at the Wesleyan Invitational. The Cardinals will have a lot on their hands against the Middlebury Panthers and the Colby Mules, but they are confident and looking for a win heading into the tournament.
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