WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – This evening, the Williams Women's Squash Team took down Middlebury in their home opener. The Ephs have been on the road for their first 12 matches of the season and were looking forward to playing in a comfortable environment surrounded by the cheer of a home crowd. With domination on top court, they emerged with a 5-4 victory over #15 Middlebury.
Up first tonight were #3
Theresa Kay, #6
Deena Iqbal, and #8
Roshni Pal. In her first match of the Williams' courts, first-year Pal did not let her emotions get the best of her. She played efficient squash and kept good length to take down her opponent in straight games and place the first point on the board. Next door, Kay dominated Middlebury. She controlled the T, forced errors, and won 3-0. In the last match of the round, Iqbal found herself in the battle. She secured the first game 11-3, but her opponent came back with a vengeance to take games 2, 3, and 4.
With the Ephs up 2-1, Round 2 began. On top court, #1
Haley Jefferson looked to be in complete control. With skill, she took down her Panther opponent in straight games. #9
Isabel Kelly's match followed the same pattern as Iqbal's. She fought hard for the matches entirety but went down in four games. Two courts over, #5
Amanda Solecki played a beautiful game of squash. She stayed in control of the rallies and won in straight games for the team's 4
th point.
#2
Quan Ng was the first of the last round to step on court. She was fully dialed in, placed the ball exactly where she wanted, and took down her Panther opponent in 15 minutes. This secured the overall win for Williams. At #4,
Mira Kamat gave her match her all but fell short losing in straight games. The final and closest match of the day was played by #7
Nora Brant. She and her Middlebury opponent went point-for-point. Brant won the first game 11-9 but lost the next 11-8. She stuck with it, finding good length and movement, but ultimately lost the next two games 11-9 and 12-10.
After the match, Coach
Zafi Levy commented, "Very important win for the women team against an excellent Middlebury team. Our top court did very well, providing three important wins. Our middle and bottom courts played hard and were close to win all matches, but we lost a few close ones. We will be back strong on Saturday against a very strong Tufts team."
The Ephs will continue their 7-match win streak at home, in front of hopefully another large crowd, on Saturday against rival #11 Tufts.
