GENEVA, NY – Coming off of two long days of matches, the Ephs traveled to William Smith College for their third and final match of the weekend. With the Herons only one spot ahead of them in the national squash rankings, the Ephs knew that in order to win, they would have to give this match their all. Unfortunately, today, their efforts were not quite enough, and they fell 5-4.
Today's match followed a 5-court system rather than the traditional 3-court system. The first round of matches was played by
Haley Jefferson (#1),
Amanda Solecki (#4),
Mira Kamat (#6), Deena Iqbal (#7). On court 1, Jefferson was paired against a world-class recruit from whom she was able to steal a game, but ultimately, she fell 3-1. Next to Jefferson, Solecki put up a solid fight against her Heron opponent but lost in straight games. At the same time, Kamat was entrenched in a battle of her own. Her length and short game were strong, and she emerged victorious, only dropping one game. The last match of the first round was by played by first-year Iqbal. Iqbal had a tough start but managed to work her way back to a 2-1 lead. Her Heron opponent fought back, and unfortunately the Eph lost her match in the fifth game.
After a break for the men's first round of matches, the next round of women stepped on court. The Ephs were trailing 3-1 to Williams Smith, so at least four of these five would need to win their matches. On court 1,
Quan Ng (#2) had an intense battle. She came from being behind 2-0 in games, winning the third game 11-8, but lost in the fourth.
Theresa Kay (#3) found herself tied 5-5 in the third, after two tie-break games, when her opponent retired due to injury. At the same time on court 4, Roshni Pal (#7) efficiently took down her Heron opponent in 3 straight games. Next to her,
Nikita Srivastava (#9) was in an hour-long battle. She traded dramatically close games with her opponent and was able to stay focused enough to win the fifth 11-8. This incredible win left the Ephs tied with Williams Smith 4-4 with only one match left to play.
Nora Brant (#5) gave her all to the match but was unable to get the Ephs' fifth win of the day.
Assistant coach
Blair Dils commented, "We knew today's match was going to be difficult because William Smith added several strong first-years. But these are the kinds of battles that will pay dividends later in the season when we get into the thick of the NESCAC schedule."
After today's tough loss, the Ephs are only feeling more motivated to get back into training for the last few weeks of the semester. They are looking forward to rematching the Herons later this season. The Ephs will take on #6 Yale University on Friday, December 2
nd.
