Ephs Squash Colby Mules and Mount Holyoke Lyons

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - On the final day of a long but triumphant weekend for the Ephs defeated Colby 9-0 and downed Mount Holyoke 8-1.

The Ephs used a 3-court system for both matches of the day. Starting off against the Colby Mules, the Ephs were excited to show their final Maine opponent of the weekend what this Williams team is all about. Williams didn't do a training trip over break for nothing!

Sophomore Sarah Willwerth (#3), junior Anna Nicholson (#6), and junior Eliza Bower (#9) led the charge for the Ephs in the first wave of play against Colby. All three rose to the challenge of playing their Colby opponents and were rewarded with three-game victories. Next on for the Ephs were senior captain Esther Baek (#2), junior Melissa Swann (#5), and freshman Alex Pear (#8). Once again, all three came out strong and toppled their opponents in three games. Feeding off of this momentum, sophomore Julia Ward (#1), sophomore Abby LeBlanc (#4), and freshman Kathryn Wright (#7) all delivered impressive 3-0 wins, resulting in a comfortable 9-0 finish for the Ephs.

The Ephs had little time to celebrate their victory over Colby however, because immediately after their match finished, they needed to start warming up again in order to face the Mount Holyoke Lyons. Willwerth, Nicholson, and Bower led the charge for the Ephs once again, and just like earlier match, they were consistent in putting up a trio of three-game victories on the board. Next on were Baek, Swann, and Pear, who each delivered strong three-game wins. Excited to feed off of this positive energy, Ward, LeBlanc, and Wright came out fired up and ready to go. Ward fought hard and gave her Lyons opponent good runs, but her opponent ultimately bested her in three games. LeBlanc and Wright both defeated their opponents in three games, resulting in a final match score of 8-1 in favor of the Ephs.

Assistant coach Tom Hodgson had this to say after the match: "This was a long and tough weekend, and I'm very impressed by the mental toughness I saw on court today. I saw everybody working on shots that they had never tried before in a match, and it is clear that our quality of squash is improving. We're looking very strong for our matches next weekend and I can't wait to see more weekends of improvement in the future. The results this weekend were very impressive and well earned."

Next weekend, the Ephs take on F&M in Lancaster, PA on January 18, the University of Virginia in Annapolis, MD on January 19th, and George Washington University in Washington, DC on January 20th. 

Vs. Colby:

Vs. Mount Holyoke: