Women's Squash Loses Heartbreaker to Drexel

PRINCETON, NJ – The Ephs fell 9-0 to Princeton on Sunday afternoon after losing 5-4 to Drexel in a heartbreaker earlier the same day. After kicking off the season to a 4-0 start, Williams fell to an overall record of 4-4 following their losses this weekend.

The Williams women suffered two losses on Saturday, and so were ready and determined to show up and play good squash on Sunday. The day started off at Drexel – an important match for the women against an improved Drexel team. However, after the first round of matches the Ephs found themselves already down 2-1 in the overall match score. Nicole Feshbach (#3) and Maria Pylypiv (#9) both suffered losses at the hands of their Drexel opponents, but Lily Grant (#6) handled her match easily and won 3-0.

Next up came Charlotte Walsh (#8), Ellen Coombe (#5) and Caroline Sawin (#2). The matches went in a similar fashion as the previous round, with the Ephs losing the round 2-1. Walsh won her match in three games, but Coombe and Sawin both fell to their opponents in four.

With the match score at 4-2 in Drexel's favor, it gave the Ephs no room for error in the final round of matches. Co-captain Ellie O'Neill (#4) showed her experience under pressure and took down her opponent 3-0. Freshman Alyssa Ritchie (#7) also composed herself to come back from being down 2-1 to come back and win her match in five games. With the overall score now equal at 4-4, the last woman up to play was co-captain Alyssa Northrop (#1). Northrop kept it close, but lost 11-9 in the third after dropping the first two games.

"We knew that our match against Drexel would be close, but we were disappointed in the final score," commented O'Neill. "We have our work cut out for us and are eager to bounce back after break."

After a both mentally and physically grueling match, the Ephs traveled to Princeton to take on the Tigers. The women knew this would be a tough match and so it was, as they were unable to take a game off of any of their opponents and were defeated 9-0.

Northrop was happy with the team's effort but agreed that they could improve. "Everyone battled hard this weekend," said Northrop. "We had really close matches which are great learning experiences to draw from as we go into the second half of our season after winter break."

"Philadephia was unkind to the Ephs this weekend," added assistant coach Blair Dills. "We battled gamely against Stanford and Drexel and had some amazing individual results, but it was tough to string together five wins in each match. We'll get back to work after the break and get ready for Colby and St. Lawrence."

Women's squash hopes to redeem themselves after Thanksgiving break. On Friday, December 6^th the Ephs will take on Yale on their home courts in Williamstown. To end the 2013 part of their season, women's squash will travel to Middlebury, VT on Saturday, December 7^th to play St. Lawrence and Colby. 

Individual Scores vs. Drexel:

Individual Scores vs. Princeton: