Ephs Beat Bates 8-1

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - On day two of a long, but exciting weekend for the Ephs, they played their second Maine opponent: Bates.

This was a big match for the Ephs, who were eager to put their mental toughness and squash skills to the test today against the Bates Bobcats. After the heartbreaking loss against Middlebury last weekend, the Ephs were excited to play another strong team, but this time, to pull out the close match. The ephs did not have to pull out a close win against Bates as it turned out.

Using a three-court system, sophomore Sarah Willwerth (#3), junior Anna Nicholson (#6), and sophomore Adrienne Conza (#9) led the charge for the Ephs. Willwerth battled her opponent closely, but ultimately her opponent could not keep up with her speedy movement and stellar shots, and was bested in 4 games. Both Nicholson and Conza came out guns blazing and comfortably defeated their opponents in three games. Feeding off of this momentum, senior captain Esther Baek (#2), junior Melissa Swann (#5), and freshman Alex Pear (#8) were next on for the Ephs. All three pulled out masterful 3-game victories. Already having six wins on the board, sophomore Julia Ward (#1), sophomore Abby LeBlanc (#4), and freshman Kathryn Wright (#7) continued the Ephs' triumphant charge and hunted for more wins to finish the match on an even stronger note. Ward played exquisite squash, but unfortuantely, her Bobcat opponent was unsquashable and she fell in 3 games. LeBlanc and Wright both toppled their opponents in three games.

Assistant Coach Blair Dills this to say after the match: "This match could have been much closer, but due to our intense focus today and determination, we had a very convincing victory. We need to bring this energy into other close matches we have in the future. Let's build off of this momentum."

The Ephs take on their third and final Maine school of the weekend, Colby, tomorrow at noon in Williamstown, MA. They will then play Mount Holyoke afterwards at 3pm.