Squash teams show grit on the courts

Author: Emma Gardner

In only the second year of their tutelage under head coach John Illig, the Middlebury squash teams have proven they have what it takes to compete alongside some of the best in the country, as each owns a record of 3-2 thus far. After winning their home openers against Hamilton with scores of 6-3 for the men and 8-1 for the women, the Panthers attacked a busy Thanksgiving weekend against Columbia, Haverford, UPenn and Princeton, with both the men and women producing two wins and two losses over several days of intense play.

The Panthers kicked off the season on a high note, defeating Hamilton for the first time since the Continentals handed the men's team tough losses at last year's NESCAC championship and Team Nationals tournament.

"We were really excited to have the opportunity to play Hamilton at home and to avenge our two losses to them last year," said men's co-captain Jack Lysohir '08.5

The 18th-ranked women dominated the courts, beating the 15th-ranked Hamilton squad by seven matches with impressive performances from the team's rookies.

"All of the girls, especially the incoming first-years, played tremendous matches against Hamilton at our home opener," said tri-captain Caroline Woodworth '09. "It was the perfect way to jump start the season."

In the men's competition, the outcome of the tournament came down to the last two matches with a score of 4-3 in Middlebury's favor, and fans crowded the front of the courts for a glimpse at the final matches. Lysohir and co-captain J.P. Sardi '09 battled side by side against their individual opponents, remaining tied up in heated competition until Sardi defeated Hamilton top player John Dewitt in five games. Lysohir followed suit soon after with another five game win, solidifying the Middlebury victory.

As the Panthers faced a challenging weekend ahead against some of the top players in the country, head coach John Illig encouraged his team to regard the matches with perspective and enjoy the opportunity to "play some of the best squash of our careers," said Lysohir.

"For both the men and the women, it was a non-pressure weekend given that of the four teams we faced, two are much stronger and two are much weaker than we are," said Illig. "Going into the weekend we pretty much knew what to expect."

The round against Columbia produced unsurprising results, as the men earned a 9-0 shutout over the Lions while the women came away with an 8-1 victory. Producing another decisive win over Haverford the next day, the Panthers continued to travel across Pennsylvania to compete at UPenn's Ringe Squash Courts. Although they knew that their chances of defeating the second-ranked Quakers were slim, the women entered the competition in high spirits, hoping to sharpen their skills and learn from their competitors.

"We were up against the top teams in the nation and although we were outmatched through the lineup, everyone played well and learned about areas of the game that could be improved," said tri-captain Sally Hatfield '09.

"Their dominance does not diminish the value of their competition for us," added tri-captain Brooke Farquhar '08.5.

Sardi gave a tough performance against UPenn's 36th nationally-ranked Mark Froot, winning the first two games before dropping the next three. He continued to put up a fight the next day against Princeton as he captured the first game of four against 20th-ranked Kelly Shannon.

"It's shaping up to be an outstanding year for both squash teams," said Illig. "For the second half of the season, the men's team will return two starting players from abroad in Eliot Jia '10 and Simon Keyes '10, and key starter Micah Wood '10, who has just finished post-season soccer."

As the season progresses, the Panthers will no doubt continue to prove that despite its youth the Middlebury squash program aims high and competes with passion.