Ephs upset GW 7-2, But Fall to Stanford 7-2

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- The Ephs had a truly thrilling and successful day at the courts, upsetting George Washington University and fighting hard against the powerhouse Stanford team.

The Ephs went into the match against GW with a lot of statistics facing them: GW was ranked higher than the Williams team, but there was definitely room for an upset. In a very exciting couple hours, the Williams women's team surpassed expectations to win very decisively against a very strong team, 7-2.

First on court were Caroline Hogan, Sarah Willwerth, and Julia Ward at the number nine, six, and three position respectively. Caroline lost the first game but came back to win in 4 due to her determination and consistency. Julia Ward also fought back to win in 4 after losing the 1^st game, winning against an opponent whose short game was impressive. Julia's own length and offensive play worked to combat this perfectly. Sarah Willwerth was a star today, gritting out an incredible win during a 5-game battle. She came back from 7-10 to win 12-10 in the 5^th game. Winning on a perfect trickle boast, she truly fought her way to victory. These first three victories paved the way for success.

Up next were Co-Captains Ananya Mahalingham-Dingra and Hayley Parsons at numbers five and two respectively. Both won their matches, Hayley in a succinct 3 games and Ananya in a tougher 4-gamer. Melissa Swann at the number seven position also won against her opponent. In the final round, Nicole Friedman and Esther Baek both battled but ultimately fell to strong opponents, while Abby Leblanc pulled through to clinch an exciting 7-2 victory against a strong team.

After a brief rest, the team hit the courts for the second warm-up of the day, ready to face the thoroughly nicknamed techies/hippies from Stanford.  Ranked 5^th in the country, the Stanford team was an intimidating presence: but nonetheless, the Ephs were ready to give it their all. Abby Leblanc and Melissa Swann impressively won their matches in huge upsets, which was exciting for all to watch and be part of. Julia Ward lost in 4 games, managing to win a game very easily off of her opponent. Nicole Friedman played an incredible match as well, taking her talented opponent to 5 games despite having played hard in two matches already this weekend and anticipating a fourth tomorrow.

Overall, today was a tiring, victorious, and exciting day at the squash courts. The team looks ahead excitedly to the rest of the season.

Coach Zafi Levy commented, "Our women's team played really well today against GW and Stanford. Our seniors lead the way with great performances all afternoon. We look forward to our match tomorrow against F&M which should be very tough as well."

Co-captain Nicole Friedman, "The team had a great showing today. We defeated GW, a team ranked above us in a decisive 7-2 match. The energy did not stop despite the hard fought matches this morning to fight against one of the best schools in college squash. Everyone played great squash and we are excited for our last home match tomorrow."