Squash NESCACs wrap up the season

Author: Kevin Carpenter

Middlebury squash squared off against conference opponents in the NESCAC tournament on Jan. 30 to Feb. 2. The weekend saw several close matches and slim margins of both victory and defeat. The men's team started off strong with a win over Wesleyan before falling to Bates and, eventually, Hamilton and Bowdoin. The women's squad tackled Bates in a thrilling 5-4 match before falling 9-0 to Trinity, the eventual champions. In the consolation game, Middlebury lost by a narrow margin to #13 Bowdoin.

The men's squad entered the tournament coming off of a five-game winning streak. A 9-0 beating on Wesleyan kept the streak alive before the men eventually dropped their final three games in well-contested matches.

In their match against the Wesleyan Cardinals, the Panthers displayed their dominance with blowout wins. The victory marks the second 9-0 win against the Cardinals on the season. Wesleyan's T. Snell lead 2-0 after the first games before first-year J.P. Garafalo took the subsequent three games to steal the victory and lock up a Panther slaughter.

Unfortunately, the Panthers failed to seal the win in the crucial moments following their first match. Bates proved a difficult opponent in the quarterfinals and racked up an 8-1 victory over Middlebury, with the team's only winning game coming from Brian Cady '11. Captain J.P. Sardi '09 took Bates' K. Mahan to the fifth game before losing 9-2.

Luck was not on the Panthers' side in the last two games of the weekend as Middlebury fell to Hamilton 6-3 and Bowdoin 5-4. Men's squash won their first match of the season against Hamilton in a 6-3 battle, yet failed to mirror the victory come tournament time. After the two consolation matches, the men's team finished in eighth place among the 11 teams competing.

The #18 women's squad started off the tournament with an impressive 5-4 victory over #12 Bates. The win marked the 16th of the season and set a new school record for the squad.

"We faced Bates earlier in the season and had a very close 5-4 win, so the anticipation of another close match was enough to keep the team working tremendously hard through the end of Winter Term," said tri-captain Caroline Woodworth '09. "We played Bates in the first round and pulled out an tight win, with close matches throughout the ladder."

The first win, said Woodworth, was possible because of an overwhelming team effort.

"Our team is filled with rock stars so its hard to pick out one person who played with the most heart or determination," said the senior tri-captain.

After the victory, the Panthers had to face a fierce #4-ranked Trinity Bantam squad. A decisive 9-0 loss to Trinity immediately following the milestone victory over Bates left the women's squad feeling dissatisfied.

In the match following the loss to Trinity, Middlebury had a chance at redemption but fell short in a 5-4 loss to Bowdoin, a team the Panthers were unable to defeat earlier in the season as well.

"Although we lost to Bowdoin in our final match of the weekend, every member of the team fought to the end," said Woodworth. The women finished the tournament in a respectable fourth place among 11 teams.

The men's squad has finished its regular season schedule - now, only team and individual nationals loom on the horizon. The women's team takes on Bowdoin in their first match of the Howe Cup at Harvard and follows that tournament with individual nationals. Both teams, especially the fledgling men's program, have experienced great growth and success throughout the season and are preparing to prove their worth on the national stage.