Women’s squash ended their season on Sunday with a 5-4 victory over Smith College in the Howe Cup National Championships held at Yale University. The win gave the Cardinals a 23 overall ranking in the College Squash Association’s end-of-season poll. The team’s six seniors accomplished what few former senior athletes at Wesleyan can claim–they went out as winners. With the win, the Lady Cardinals avenged two regular season losses to Smith, ending their season with a 4-16 record.
Co-Captain Sa Suwanarat ’04 found the victory over Smith and the team’s seventh place finish in the C Division of the Howe Cup to be a fitting end to her final season. Picking up a racquet for the first time at Wesleyan, Suwanarat split time at the team’s number one spot with fellow co-captain Dina Guth ’04 all season. Suwanarat credits the University and Coach David Cukierman for impressing the entire squad to take up the sport.
“Everybody on the team started their squash careers here at Wesleyan. However, regardless of what schools we came from, the thing that we all have in common is a love for the sport and the passion to play,” Suwanarat said.
The team’s passion was rewarded, and they were pleased to end the season on a positive note.
Said Kristin Lehner ’04, “Beating Smith as our grand finale was excellent. Dina [Guth] and Sa [Suwanarat] played well to ensure that this wasn’t our third loss to them [Smith] this season. Deep down, Smith knows that we won when it counted most.”
Before their showdown with Smith, the women lost two very competitive matches to William Smith College and Franklin and Marshall College – both by a score of 4-5. The team kept the close losses in perspective, as the scores gave them a positive note to end on.
Said Alyssa Frankel ’04, “We proved that we were on par with all the other teams in our division, and when we stepped up our playing a bit [against Smith], we were able to win.”
While the women were unable to win against their first two opponents at the Howe Cup, improvement was shown in the scores. The squad lost its Jan. 30 meeting with Franklin and Marshall by a score of 6-3.
How the team will cope with the loss of six seniors is the question approaching the 2004-2005 season. Suwanarat believes that Cukierman will continue to produce teams that can win, despite a limited number of recruited athletes.
“[Cukierman] will find more interested players and train them just like he trained us. He will make those who hit ‘home-runs’ when they first pick up the sport be able to hit straight along the sidewall. I also have a strong amount of confidence in my [underclass] teammates who have both the heart and the attitude to improve themselves,” Suwanarat said.
Lehner agrees with Suwanarat that the squad will not suffer a tremendous loss beyond the actual number of Cardinal players graduating.
“I am confident that the team will boost its way back after our departure,” Lehner said. “After numbers one and two, most of our ladder was at roughly the same skill level. Also, those underclasswomen care, and can hit the ball hard.”
For the Lady Cardinals, next season will require some rebuilding, but Suwanarat and Lehner’s praises should serve as an indication that the team is in worthy hands.
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