Ephs Defeat Colby and Bowdoin

WILLIAMSTOWN – Women's squash kicked off their first home weekend of the season with two wins versus Colby and Bowdoin. After already playing three matches over the course of the week, Williams continued their strong play with Saturday's 9-0 win over Colby and 8-1 victory against Bowdoin.

The day started off at 11 am versus the Mules at the Simon Squash Center in Williamstown. Across all nine matches, the Ephs only dropped two games total. Nicole Feshbach (#3) only gave up 5 points total in her match in route to a 3-0 against her opponent. Playing at number 9, Caroline Hogan shut out her opponent 11-0 in the first game of her three game match.

Charlotte Walsh (#6) started off strong with a 2-0 lead, but her Colby adversary took the third game to make the match score 2-1. Walsh was not fazed, however, and came back to win the fourth game 11-5 and take the match 3-1. Nicole Friedman (#1) lost her first game to the Colby number 1 (Devin Mullaney), but stormed back to take the next three to win the match in four games.

After a short rest, the Ephs were back on court at 3 pm to take on the Polar Bears. Few of the women had trouble with their Bowdoin opponents and most matches ended in 3-0 victories for the home team. Friedman had a similar pattern in this match as her match versus Colby. After dropping the first game, the number 1 for the Ephs came back to win her match 3-1. The closest match of the day came from Caroline Sawin (#5) who played in her first match of the 2015 portion of the squash season. Sawin found herself down 2-0 to start the match, but rallied to even the score at 2-2. Her opponent outlasted her in the last couple points of the fifth game and eventually defeated Sawin 12-10 in the final game.

"The two wins today were excellent preparation for the match against Bates tomorrow," commented Sawin. "We are all excited and ready to compete tomorrow."

Assistant coach Blair Dils agreed with his co-captain on the importance of Sunday's match versus Bates. "We were very efficient today against Colby and Bowdoin," added Dils. "We're excited to finally roll out our full line-up against Bates tomorrow. It's been a match we've been eager to play since last February."

Not only does Williams have a recent history with NESCAC rival Bates, but tomorrow will be the first time the Ephs have been able to play their full line-up in the 2014-2015 season. With two juniors abroad in the fall, and recent injuries and illnesses in January, Williams is excited to have a complete roster for Sunday's big match versus Bates. The most recent battle between the two schools ended in the Ephs defeat at the NESCAC championships last season, and Williams is eager to revenge that loss. The match will take place at noon on Sunday the 11^th in Williamstown. 

Individual Results vs. Colby:

Individual Results vs. Bowdoin: