The men’s squash season ended in disappointment this last weekend as the Cardinals went 0-3 at Nationals. Without number one seed Andy Aylward ’07 in the lineup, the men fell to Colby (8-1), Denison (7-2) and Connecticut College (8-1). While several individuals had standout performances, the team ended its season ranked 24th nationally and last in their C flight.
“Obviously in terms of national ranking, we didn’t perform as well as previous years,” said co-captain Umay Suanda ’05. “I think we accomplished a lot off the court, which was something great about this team.”
Before the first ball was put into play, the Cardinals were at a decided disadvantage without their top player. Aylward was not with the team for unspecified reasons. With Aylward out of action, Coach Tedeschi moved Evan Lodge ’08 from third to first in the Cardinals ladder, left Andrew Rozas ’06 in second, and moved the rest of the team up a slot in the lineup.
“Going into the tournament without your number one player was tough,” Suanda said. “I think everyone felt a little pressure having to play a position above what they normally play.”
The rationale for moving Lodge to the top of the order was in part a matter of health, as Rozas had been suffering from knee pains for most of the semester.
“Andrew is a phenomenal squash player, but without the ability to move freely his game was not quite as good as Evan’s, which is why Evan moved above him on the ladder,” Tedeschi said.
The rearranged order quickly proved detrimental for Wesleyan in its first match against Colby. The Mules easily defeated the top eight Cards, most in straight game fashion.
“The C flight is so competitive that one player missing has a cascading effect on the entire ladder,” Tedeschi said. “Matches we knew we could have won 5-4 or 6-3 with Andy became 7-2 or 8-1 losses.”
The sole Cardinals victory against Colby came from Devin Gorman-DaRif ’08 in the ninth seed, as he won 9-0, 10-9, 9-3. The only other match that looked like it might go to the Red and Black was Suanda’s in the fifth seed. After dropping the first game, the Cardinals’ fiver won the second and third sets convincingly. With the lead, however, Suanda was unable to polish off the match, losing the fifth game in a tiebreaker.
“By seeing the results it doesn’t really show, but you could tell everybody was giving it all they had,” Suanda said. “Omair [Sarwar ’06] even played with a bag of ice in his shoe. It was a pretty dumb idea, but the fact that he did it, I respect that.”
Whether from ice or just a second wind, Sarwar proved to be the star of the weekend for the Cardinals. After falling to his Colby counterpart, the fourth seed came back to win his Denison match in a five set thriller (10-9, 9-2, 7-9, 7-9, 10-8) and then finished the weekend by picking up the lone Cardinal point against Conn. College (9-6, 6-9, 9-6, 9-4).
Other notable performances included Lodge’s five set match against Denison where the freshman took a 2-0 lead before falling to the Big Red’s top seed. Suanda, who played well in all his matches over the weekend, took home the fourth Cardinals win against Denison with a 4-9, 9-4, 9-7, 9-7 performance.
“I thought everybody played up to their potential and was especially proud of Umay Suanda and Omair Sarwar, who played wonderful squash this weekend,” Tedeschi said.
In the last match of the weekend against Conn. College, several Cardinals refused to go down quietly. Suanda, Phil Wallach ’05, Ian Carbone ’06, and Than Chantaralawan ’05 each won a game in 10-8 tiebreaker fashion before succumbing to their Camel opponents. A strength all semester, these bottom tier players demonstrated the grit, determination and depth that won several matches for the Red and Black this season.
“The students on both my teams are inspirations in their energy, work habits, curiosity and worldviews,” Tedeschi said. “I saw all the players improve as squash players but, more importantly, grow as individuals. They were an honor to coach.”
Despite the humbling conclusion to their careers, the seniors who played their last match in the Red and Black appreciated being part of a squash program on the rise.
“When you’ve put so much into something for the past few years, you definitely get a little sad when it is all done,” Suanda said. “The squash season was something I always looked forward to. This year’s team was an awesome one to close my squash career with, but the team will be sick next year.”
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