CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Williams women's squash team (15-8)started off the weekend strong with a 7-2 victory over rival Middlebury in the first round of the CSA Squash Championships. Playing in the Kurtz Cup (B Division), Williams was the fourth seed to Midd's fifth seed and were able to hold their position to begin the tournament.
The 2014-2015 Middlebury squad is no stranger to the Ephs, as this is the third time in as many weeks that the two teams have faced off. Both match-ups ended in favor for Williams, but with scores of 5-4 and 6-3, the Ephs knew that today's match would be close, and they were right in thinking so.
The women had a hard start to the day, losing two out of the three first round matches. Co-captain Ellie O'Neill (#3) and Ellen Coombe (#6) both fell in three games to their Middlebury adversaries. When Ananya Mahalingam-Dhingra (#9) found herself down 2-1, she refused to let the first round end in a sweep and pulled off a must win match for the Ephs, rallying and winning 11-4 in the fifth game.
However, things were still looking tough as co-captain Caroline Sawin (#6) was down 1-0 in her game score and Hayley Parsons (#2) was tied at 1-1. Sawin rallied from her first game deficit to win a crucial second game 16-14, taking the third, and then finally finishing her opponent off 11-9 in the fourth.
Parsons was also keen on getting a point for the Ephs – as her opponent, Anne Wymard, had defeated her in the previous two matches. Parsons exhibited the saying "third times a charm" and, after dropping the first game, cruised to a 3-1 victory. With these two wins, the Ephs were now ahead 3-2 and feeling more confident about their chances to defeat Midd and move on to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Alyssa Ritchie (#8) was having a nail biting five-game match of her own. Ritchie started off strong, taking the first game 11-7, but then fell in the next two games so that her opponent now had a 2-1 edge. At such a pivotal time in the match, Ritchie came through with one of the most important victories of the day, coming back and winning the next two games 11-9 and 11-7, to give the Ephs 4 points.
Nicole Friedman (#1) and Nicole Feshbach (#4) were the two Ephs playing when Ritchie finished her match. Williams now only needed one more point to end it, but both Friedman and Feshbach were in close battles. Friedman had a quick start, winning the first two games of her match, but her opponent rallied to take the next two and force a fifth game. Friedman showed great poise and mental strength in combatting the attempted comeback and won 12-10 in the fifth game.
With Friedman's win, Williams had 5 points and had won the match. Right when Friedman finished her fifth game, Feshbach had match ball in her fourth game. Feshbach was able to take her match as well, with an 11-8 victory in the fourth game. The day concluded in a positive fashion for the women, with the last Eph payer of the day, Charlotte Walsh (#7), finishing her opponent off in three close games.
"Our win today against Middlebury was huge," commented O'Neill. "Not only did we defend our ranking as it stood going into nationals, but we also gave ourselves the opportunity to improve that ranking tomorrow and on Sunday. I'm proud of the team for the way they came out and played today, and excited to end the season on such a high note."
Head coach Zafi Levy was pleased with his team's performance as well. "I am thrilled about the result today," added Levy. We were down 2-0 at the beginning of the match, but found a way to turn it around. This was an amazing effort from all 10 players who never gave up and continued to battle to the end. We are excited to keep playing this weekend in effort to improve our ranking!"
The Ephs will next face Dartmouth in the semifinals of the Kurtz Cup on Saturday, February 14th at 11:15 am. Williams, having just played Dartmouth this past week, will look to avenge their 6-3 regular season loss in order to make it to the finals of their division.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES TO COME
