Women's Squash Defeats Franklin and Marshall 5-4

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Ephs finished off a historic weekend for the women's squash team with a nail-biting 5-4 win against Franklin and Marshall today. After an incredible 7-2 win against No. 10 George Washington yesterday, the team continued the positive momentum into today's match,edging No. 15 Franklin & Marshall 5-4,keeping them undefeated in the 2016 calendar year.

The match followed the three-court system, with co-captain Nicole Feshbach (#3), co-captain Lily Grant (#6), and Caroline Hogan (#9) up first. Grant and Hogan dominated their opponents from the start, with Grant only dropping one game and Hogan winning in a quick three games. Feshbach, although fighting very hard against a difficult opponent, fell in four games, making the match score 2-1 to the Ephs.

Next up were Hayley Parsons (#2), Esther Baek (#5), and Charlotte Walsh (#8). Walsh was first off the court, after dominating her opponent start to finish in three quick games. Parson and Baek played hard, but ended up losing to their opponents in four very tight games, making the match score tied 3-3.

Nicole Friedman (#1), Ananya Mahalingam-Dhingra (#4), and Ellen Coombe (#7) were next on court. Although her opponent took her to five games, Coombe stayed aggressive until the end, winning 12-10 in the fifth game and gaining a crucial fourth point for the Ephs, meaning that they only needed one more match to win. Mahalingam-Dhingra fell in three games to her opponent, making the match tied at 4-4. Friedman, despite the pressure of her match, played an excellent game of squash and defeated her opponent in a nail-biting four-game match, making the final score 5-4 to the Ephs.

Eph head coach Zafi Levy was extremely happy with the win, which marks the end to one of the best weekends in Williams women's squash history. He commented, "I could not be happier with the win today. The women played so well all weekend long. Our seniors played hard today and carried the team forward. Nicole Friedman's win at the end when the score was tied at 4-4 was incredible! We have a hard match next week against Middlebury and we must train hard all week to be ready for the Panthers!"

Co-captain Feshbach echoed his statement, saying "We couldn't be happier with our performance this weekend. It was important to back up our win from yesterday with another today and everybody rose to the occasion. Ellen winning 12-10 in the fifth after being down 2-1 gave us a fighting chance, and then Nicole came through in the clutch when it was 4-4 and beat a very tough player. We are looking forward to continuing our strong play against Middlebury next weekend!"

The Ephs will face Middlebury, one of their greatest rivals in the NESCAC, next Saturday at 2pm.