The men’s and women’s squash teams completed six matches each this week as the two teams gear up for the NESCAC and national tournaments looming right around the corner. Both teams went 2-4 this week and hope to use the NESCAC tournament to get their acts together for the nationals.
For the men, there were many positives during the team’s 2-4 week highlighted by a fourth place finish in the Vassar Challenge tournament over the weekend.
At the tournament, the team went 2-1 as it dropped its first match to Hamilton 8-1, but finished strong with a 7-2 win over Penn State and 5-4 decision against Vassar. This past week, the team also competed against Connecticut College and highly ranked Little Three rivals number seven Williams and number eleven Amherst. The team was blanked in losses to both Williams and Amherst, but Coach Shona Kerr said these matches were invaluable experience against two of the nation’s elite teams.
“I think the men saw that Amherst is not unreachable with some work and they saw that they [can] stay in the rally with this level of opponent,” Kerr said. “Williams is very strong this year and it was good to witness and play against this standard.”
The team’s final match of the week was a 7-2 loss to Connecticut College. Wins came from Evan Lodge ’08 at number 2 and Devin Gorman-DaRif ’08 at number nine, the Cards’ two strongest players of late. Lodge is riding a four-game winning streak while Gorman DaRif has won three in a row. Team Captain Omair Sarwar ’06 acknowledged Lodge’s strong play.
“Evan Lodge has been playing outstanding squash holding his own [at the top of the ladder],” said Sarwar.
According to Sarwar, team morale is high as his team enters the most important part of their season.
“In my four years here I have never seen the team as close or as supportive of each other as I think they realize they’re not just playing for themselves anymore,” Sarwar said. “This is reflected on court when you see people diving into corners, ricocheting off walls and skidding all over the court running the risk of injury but refusing to give up, for themselves and for the team.”
Sarwar said that the team will use the NESCAC games to fine-tune for the nationals.
“[We need to] get everything together as a team, work out any kinks, try some ridiculous shots that no one in his sane mind would use at nationals hopefully and basically get things out of our system,” he said. “Going in to the home stretch, I’ve never been this nervous [or] excited before. There really is a lot at stake and I’m honored to go into this with such a great group of guys.”
The women’s team also completed a busy week in its preparation for the NESCAC and national tournaments. It finished the week 2-4 overall with both wins coming against Smith College. Like the men, matches against Williams and Amherst gave the women’s team an opportunity to measure themselves against the nation’s upper echelon of teams.
While the Lady Cards dropped both matches, Kate Jones ’06 played inspiring squash as she dispatched her Amherst opponent with a 10-9, 9-3, 9-3 win. Nicole Gray ’08 has also played well as of late, notching three wins in a row as well. At the Vassar Challenge, the team went 1-2 with a 6-3 win against Smith sandwiched in between losses to Hamilton and Vassar. Two days later, the team was again victorious over Vassar by a score of 6-3. Captain Alex Loh ’06 saw the team’s victory as a possible stepping-stone for greater success the rest of the season.
“I sense that our victories against Smith are just the beginnings of a growing squash program,” Loh said.
“Maddie Rottman ’08, playing number two, has made incredible strides since picking up squash last season. Brittany Delany ’09 has great poise and competitive spirit taking on the challenge of the number one spot. Andrea Giuliano ’09 has also been making her presence known with commanding power in the lower half of the ladder.”
The Lady Cards are optimistic as they look toward the NESCAC’s and national tournament.
“The NESCACs this weekend will be a great opportunity to gear up for nationals [which are] fast approaching in the next couple of weeks,” Loh said. “All I can ask for is [for us] to lay it all out on the court.”
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