BOSTON, MA -- This afternoon, the Williams women's squash team met the #7 ranked UVA squash team at MIT's campus. The Ephs challenged the Cavaliers and managed to win a handful of games before falling 9-0 to their skilled opponent.
On first were
Theresa Kay (#3),
Nora Brant (#5), and
Roshni Pal (#7). Kay started off strong and won the first game 14-12. She wasn't able to keep the momentum going and fell 3-1. Next door, Brant lost in three. She had a solid performance with many long rallies and just missed securing the second game. Pal fought hard against her Cavalier opponent but went down in straight games.
The next set of matches were played by
Quan Ng (#2),
Deena Iqbal (#6), and
Isabel Kelly (#9). Ng and Iqbal lost in 3 games each but played close, intense rallies with their top-ranked opponents. Kelly had a phenomenal 5-game performance this afternoon. She did a great job moving her opponent around and staying patient, allowing her to win the first and third games.
On last were
Haley Jefferson (#1),
Amanda Solecki (#4), and
Nikita Srivastava (#8). At the first spot, Jefferson found herself up against one of the top-10 players in the country. She worked hard to set up points and stay in the rallies but eventually fell in straight games. Solecki and Srivastava competed hard against their strong Cavalier opponents as well, but neither were able to take a game.
After the match, sophomore
Nora Brant commented, "I was impressed by the team today. It's easy for us to get complacent when we're up against another top-10 team, but everyone gave it their all. Today's match showed that we can really compete at the next level and also highlighted areas where we can improve. I'm excited to get back into training for the next few weeks."
The Ephs will travel to New York City next Friday to challenge #8 Columbia University in their last match of the semester.
