Williams Loses Close Matches to Navy 5-4, and George Washington 6-3

Williamstown, MA-- After the Ephs disappointing road trip to Maine last weekend, they were hungry for a chance to prove that they could play with top-15 CSA teams. Right from the beginning of the match against Navy, it was clear the Williams was a different team than a week before.

In the first round of matches, the Ephs went down 1-0 as Will Ruggiero '19 (#9) lost in a close three games on court number three. At the same time, David Pincus '19 (#6) battled to win the first two, while Galen Squiers '16 (#3) split the first two with his opponent. The Ephs then got a boost, as Squiers ramped his game up to another level and gave Williams their first point, winning the next two games handily. Pincus lost the third, but played amazing squash to give the Ephs their second point. Pincus has been playing extremely well this season, as he has won his last five matches. 

The Ephs 2-1 lead was short-lived, as Jamie Havran '18 (#8) cramped after his first game, and then lost to a skilled player, evening the match 2-2. Williams then turned to seniors Michael Petrick '16 (#5) and Varun Sharma '16 (#7). Petrick won the first two, but Sharma lost the first two. Then, Navy started gaining momentum as Petrick lost the third and fourth quickly. Sharma countered that, by winning his next two games. The match was 2-2, and both seniors were in their fifth games. Petrick battled back from being down 6-4 in the game, to give Williams their third point. Unfortunately, Sharma lost the fifth, but he played amazing squash.

John Fitzgerald '19 (#2) lost in three, to put Navy up 4-3. The last two people on court were John Shuck '17 (#4) and Jamie Ruggiero '17 (#1). John Shuck played great squash to cruise to victory in four games. The match was tied 4-4, and Jamie Ruggiero was tied 1-1. The Navy #1 played outstanding squash, and outlasted Ruggiero to clinch the match for Navy 5-4. It was a tough loss for the Ephs, but Eph head coach Levy was impressed by the way the team rebounded after their tough loss to Bates during the previous weekend. 

The Williams men had to return to the courts quickly, as they had a match against George Washington today at 11am. The Ephs got an early boost, as Mason Elizondo '18 (#9) cruised to a 3-1 victory. On the middle and top courts, Galen Squiers and David Pincus were in tight matches. Both Squiers and Pincus won the first game, but then lost the next two. Williams knew they would need wins here to have a chance at winning the match. Both players showed amazing mental toughness, and won their foruth games to make the match even closer. Pincus won his match, cruising to victory in the fifth to put Williams up 2-0. Squiers lost, as the fifth game became more about shooting, and his opponent had pinpoint accuracy. 

Will Ruggiero lost in three at #8 after playing a really tough opponent, evening the match at 2-2. Michael Petrick then won in three games, giving Williams a 3-2 lead. John Fitzgerald was in a battle with his opponent on the top courts, trading games with his opponent to get to two all. He played outstanding squash, attacking the ball and thinking about where he was placing every shot. Unfortunately, he lost in the fifth game, tying the match at 3-3. Williams lost all three of the final round matches, as GW showed the depth of their lineup. 

Next up for the Ephs is Franklin & Marshall, tomorrow afternoon at 2pm at the Simon Squash Center.