WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – This morning, the No. 3 Williams women's squash team challenged No. 2 Tufts in the 2023 NESCAC Championships semifinals. With the memory of their 5-4 loss to this team in last year's semifinal in the back of their minds, the Ephs gave this match everything they had. They demonstrated great improvement and strength but unfortunately fell in close 6-3 match to their Jumbo rival.
Like yesterday, today's match followed the 5-court system. #9
Nikita Srivastava put the first point on the board for the Ephs. Her skillful volley drops brought her to a swift and dominating 3-0 victory. Next off court was #6
Roshni Pal who focused on using height to secure her match's third game. She unfortunately fell 3-1. #4
Amanda Solecki was next door and locked into an intense battle. The sophomore Eph traded 11-8 games with her Jumbo opponent before she lost 3-1 as well.
The first round was wrapped up by two anxiety-inducing 5-game matches. #7
Nora Brant went up 2-0 to begin her match. After dropping the next two, she refocused to go point for point in the fifth, but with a few unlucky shots she fell 11-9. At the same time, #2
Quan Ng had an impressive showing. She similarly went up 2-0 and got redemption on her Jumbo opponent with an 11-6 win in the fifth game.
To begin the second round, the Ephs were trailing 3-2 with 4 matches to go. The Ephs kept fighting but unfortunately both #3
Theresa Kay and #5
Deena Iqbal were outdone by the Jumbos in close games. #8
Mira Kamat stayed tough through her match. She used skilled drops and kills to trade games with her opponent before falling 12-10 in the fourth. Finally, to close out the day, #1
Haley Jefferson put on yet another impressive performance. Her strong volleys brought her to a 3-0 victory.
After the match, co-captain Niki Srivastava commented "Although we didn't win today, we convincingly inched closer — everyone showed up and showed out, playing some of our best squash all season. I am more energized than ever to have another go at Tufts at Nationals and can't wait to see everyone give it their all during our final set of matches of the season."
The Ephs will take the next few days to put some final touches on their game before heading to Philadelphia for Nationals to wrap up their successful season.
