Women's Squash Defeats George Washington 5-4

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Ephs defeated George Washington today in a close 5-4 win that makes their overall score for the weekend 2-0. The team faces the University of Virginia tomorrow in what is also expected to be a very close and important match.

The team played the three court system for today's match, with Caroline Hogan (#9), captain Alyssa Ritchie (#6), and Esther Baek (#3) first on court. Hogan started off the bottom court's dominance by defeating her opponent handily in three games. Baek also won in her match in four tight games, finishing her opponent of 13-11 in the fourth. Ritchie fought extremely hard against a tough player, but fell 11-9 in a tight fifth game, making the overall match score 2-1 to the Ephs.

Next up were Ellen Coombe (#8), Melissa Swann (#5), and Hayley Parsons (#2). Coombe also dominated her opponent on the bottom court, finishing her off in three decisive and well-played games. Swann came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat her opponent 3-1, giving the Ephs their fourth point. Parsons, despite fighting hard against a skilled player and getting a game, fell 3-1, making the overall score 4-2 to the Ephs.

Last on court were Anna Nicholson (#7), Ananya Mahalingam-Dhingra (#4), and Nicole Friedman (#1). Both Mahalingam-Dhingra and Friedman fought hard but fell 3-0 in their matches. Nicholson sealed the match with a 3-2 win over her opponent, showing strong mental toughness until the last game, and making the overall score 5-4 to the Ephs. Charlotte Walsh (#10) and Eliza Bower (#11) also handily defeated their opponents 3-0 in the exhibition matches. 

Eph head coach Zafi Levy was extremely pleased with the win, stating "Great win for the women's team against an excellent GW unit. We had to overcome some serious hurdles to win this match. We look forward to another tough match tomorrow against UVA."

Captain Alyssa Ritchie agreed with him, adding "Our win today against GW was key. We needed to win against them to maintain our position in the rankings, and I'm happy with the result from this afternoon. The girls each battled a difficult opponent, and I'm pleased with the effort each player put forth. I'm so excited that Anna was able to clinch the match-winning point for us, demonstrating important mental toughness and persistence. She did a great job under pressure this afternoon. Hopefully we can continue to use this momentum tomorrow against UVA."

The Ephs face UVA tomorrow at 12pm on the Navy courts and then head back to Williamstown for another week of training before facing Middlebury next Friday.