At Yale, women’s squash furthers win streak, men pull a mixed bag

The Panthers are really making a push this January. After a solid 2-2 weekend against some tough competition at the Yale Round Robin, the men improve to 8-3 on the year. But the women continue to be the talk of the town as they added another five games to their win streak.

At 12-1 — undefeated in their last 12 — the women have proven they must be taken seriously.

For the men, the Yale Round Robin was a great proving ground as they make a bid for the B-flight.

After a mild opening date with 22nd-ranked George Washington (6-3), the Panthers got a taste of where they want to be.

Eleventh-ranked Franklin & Marshall, a stalwart in the B-flight, delivered an 8-1 beating. While Franklin & Marshall was clearly superior, the match was closer than it appeared. With its young talent base growing and maturing, the Panthers should be able to challenge the Diplomats in a matter of years.

On the heels of the loss to Franklin & Marshall, the team took another blow as it was stunned by 18th-ranked Bowdoin.

“The 6-3 loss to Bowdoin was definitely disappointing since we wanted to stay ahead of them in our bid to make the B-flight this year,” said tri-captain Micah Wood ’10, “but with [Brian] Cady [’11] out with food poisoning, we had an uphill battle to win that match.”

"With a few subtle changes, we could take down Bowdoin in the near future; hopefully at NESCACs.” The men took care of Colby 8-1 in their final match of the tournament. A lot has gone into the success of this team.

“Team chemistry is excellent this year,” said Wood, which can often be overlooked in individual sports like squash. This has been particularly key with all of the internal ladder movement this year.

“People are really stepping up. Hopefully, we’ll be able to peak at the right times. The right time is definitely this Friday against 15th-ranked St. Lawrence.

While the men played well in the face of adversity this weekend, the women have been playing well in the face of everything. During this 12-match team win streak, they have yielded a total of 10 individual matches. Everyone seems to have caught fire at the right time.

Five members of the top nine have yet to lose an individual match since the Williams loss: Molly Hubbard ’13, Jamie Burchfield ’12, Annie Ulrich ’13, Lindsey Becker ’13 and Al Boillot ’12.

This talented youth presence bodes very well for the enduring success of the team.

At Yale, the women beat 23rd-ranked George Washington, 21st-ranked Franklin & Marshall, 15th-ranked Bowdoin, 20th-ranked Colby and 28th-ranked Northeastern. While not teams the Panthers are trying to surpass in the rankings, these victories only reinforce this team’s legitimacy.

While tri-captain and one seed Avery Tilney ’10 struggled throughout the weekend — posting a 2-3 record — the team is built around depth.

“Our team has incredible depth that most other teams don’t have,” said tri-captain Virginia Shannon ’11.

“We can get wins consistently throughout our ladder which puts us in a good place for nationals and NESCACS when we come up against top teams.” This depth is only bolstered by the team’s chemistry.

“The support we all give one another is what helps each of us push through practices and tough matches,” added tri-captain Ashley Panichelli ’10.

After proving they can take care of business against average opponents, the women close out the season with one of the toughest schedules around.

Mt. Holyoke, Dartmouth, Stanford, and Princeton all rank above them currently, with Hamilton just one spot behind them. This depth and chemistry should continue to propel the Panthers as they look to round out the season and continue into NESCACs and Nationals.