The men’s squash team dominated Vassar College on Wednesday night, sweeping each individual match to post a 9-0 victory. Wesleyan won 27 games total in the best-of-five matches, to only five losses combined. The match was the team’s fourth in the past week and marked the Cardinals’ final action before winter break.
Wesleyan did not regard Vassar as a particularly strong team, but it could not afford to be overconfident entering the match.
“They’re not so good, but the moment you get complacent is when you start losing,” said co-captain Benjie Messinger-Barnes ’09, who admitted that he wasn’t feeling at the top of his game. “I’m not injured, but I’m feeling a little banged up—lots of squash, lately.”
The top of Vassar’s lineup still caused a bit of worry among the Cards.
“They have a strong top lineup, but it gets pretty weak pretty fast,” Messinger-Barnes said.
The only spot that really gave any of the Wesleyan players significant trouble was the number-two spot, where Matt Candal ’11 scraped out a 3-2 victory.
The atmosphere was particularly hectic because both the men’s and women’s teams were playing at the same time, but the men’s squad still played with intense focus.
“This was our last match before [winter] break,” said Nate Fowles ’10. “It was nice to have a solid win before going away for vacation.”
The midseason break is certainly well-deserved, given the number of matches the team has played recently.
“Everyone played well, considering the long tournament over this past weekend,” Fowles said.
The majority of the team won its matches with ease, 3-0. Among those accomplishing the feat were Robert Broadfoot ’10, Wesleyan’s number-one player, and co-captain JZ Golden ’08, who was well-dressed in black knee-socks and a green headband.
Despite the thorough defeat that the Cards handed Vassar, the rapport between the teams remained decidedly light.
“Our matches with Vassar are always lighthearted,” Fowles commented. “There’s even a quirky prize for the loser.”
The men’s team will enjoy its own prize in January.
“[We’re] going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to train,” Fowles said. “In Mexico, we’ll work hard and then relax on the beach. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
The team will return, rested and ready to take on Bates in the Yale Round Robin on Jan.12.
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