Williams Defeats Midd 5-4

MIDDLEBURY, VT – Williams defeated Middlebury 5-4 on Wednesday evening in one of the most important and exciting matches of the season so far. The Ephs and the Panthers have always been rivals, consistently delivering highlight matches year after year, and their first meeting of the season was certainly no different.

Williams traveled to Middlebury to play at their new facility for the first time, as last year the two teams met in Williamstown. Playing the three-court system, the Ephs were eager to start off the match strong, and they certainly made a statement across the board.

First off court in the first round was sophomore Ellen Coombe (#6) with a decisive 3-0 victory for the Ephs. Williams was happy with one, quick win under their belt to start the match and that set up a strong performance by the rest of the first round. Co-captain Ellie O'Neill (#3) was fighting a battle on her court, with all of the game scores ending by very small margins. After dropping the first game 11-9, O'Neill came back to win the next one 12-10. O'Neill then lost the third 12-10, and was defeated 3-1 with another loss in the fourth game.

On the third court, freshman Ananya Mahalingam-Dhingra (#9) was fighting her own battle. The Eph freshman stormed to a 2-0 lead over her opponent, but the Middlebury number 9 managed to win the next two – evening the game score at 2-2. Mahalingam-Dhingra showed poise and composure and took away the momentum from her opponent and swept the fifth game 11-0 in route to a 3-2 victory for Williams. After the first round of matches, Williams was ahead 2-1 in the overall match score.

Following Coombe's strong performance, the middle court was ahead of the other two courts and co-captain Caroline Sawin (#5) followed the trend with a 3-0 win of her own. Williams displayed their depth in the middle of the line-up and Sawin exhibited that clearly with her 11-5, 11-6 and 11-4 game scores. Williams was now ahead 3-1, needing only two more victories to clinch the win for the day.

However, the rest of the second round of matches did not end in favor for the Ephs. On the third court, Alyssa Ritchie (#8) lost the first game but managed to come back and win the next to even the score at 1-1. Ritchie's Middlebury adversary proved too strong and won that match 3-1. Hayley Parsons (#2), on the other hand, started strong, winning the first game 11-8. The next three games were close but all went in favor of Middlebury and so Parsons also lost in four games. After the second round of matches the score was now even at 3-3.

Williams needed at least two out of the last three matches in order to take home a victory. Junior Nicole Feshbach (#4) managed to get off court with the first of those wins for the Ephs. Feshbach proved more consistent than her opponent in her four-game match, pulling out 12-10 and 16-14 victories in the last two games to close out her match. After falling behind 2-0 in her match, Nicole Friedman (#1) took the third 11-3, but was defeated in four games. The match was now tied at 4 wins apiece.

As Feshbach and Friedman were finishing their respective matches, Charlotte Walsh (#7) was ahead 2-0 in hers after winning the first two games 12-10 and 11-9. Walsh's Middlebury opponent did not go away without a fight and took the third game 11-8. The Eph sophomore regained her composure though and finished her match strong with a 11-3 game score and the final win that gave Williams the five points needed to secure the match.

Head-coach Zafi Levy was cautiously optimistic about his team's 5-4 win. "Good performance by the women's team against an extremely strong Middlebury side," said Levy. "I am very pleased with the win, but I think we can play better. We will keep training hard to improve our standards."

Levy is looking to be cautious about overemphasizing this victory, as Williams will most likely have to face Middlebury again at the NESCAC championships in less than two weeks.

Co-captain Sawin was also pleased with the Eph's road win. "This was a huge win for our team," commented Sawin. "Middlebury was strong at the top of their lineup so our middle and bottom really had to come through, and everyone did. This was a great start to an important week of matches and I'm confident that our team is ready to face Brown and Drexel."

Before the Ephs even think about facing Middlebury again, Williams has to look to their packed schedule for this coming weekend. Back on their home courts, Williams will next face Brown at 6 pm on Friday. Currently, Brown is number 11 in the College Squash Association rankings, while Williams is number 12. The Ephs will then take on Drexel in Williamstown on Saturday, and after travel to Middletown, CT to face Wesleyan and Amherst in their annual Little Three Competition. 

Individual Results: