Tigers Down Ephs 9-0 in Home Opener

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA In the first home match of the season, the Ephs faced off against the #4 ranked Princeton Tigers. The Ephs knew this would be a challenging match against some of the best players in the country, but also a great opportunity to practice different styles of play and find areas for improvement. Although the Ephs lost 9-0 they fought hard during each rally.

The match followed a three-court system. First on the top court was sophomore Rhea Pandit at #3. Pandit fell in straight games, but demonstrated improvement throughout to ultimately play some very close squash in the third game. Nearby, players Rachel Miller (#4) and Amanda (#7) Solecki were in battles of their own. Although focused and disciplined in their shot selection, they were not able to outlast their tiger opponents. Both fell in three games.

The second round of matches had a similar outcome. Sophomore Naomi Jefferson-Sambanis (#9) and captain Nora Brant (#6) displayed strong squash and hard work despite losing in straight games to top players. Melanie Wang (#1) similarly lost in three games, but gave her opponent a lot of trouble with her smart shot selection and speed.

In the last round of matches, sophomore Sophia Koehler (#2) had a strong initial showing, clinching the first game 11-9 through playing to her strengths and hitting consistent and accurate length. Her opponent bounced back strong, and ultimately won the match in four games. At the same time, Anika Kakarla (#8) lost in three games to her opponent. Lastly, captain Theresa Kay was forced to retire her match after an injury in the first game. Although she battled to finish out the game, Kay chose to stop playing to prevent further injury.

In her first college match, first year Mahika Gupta took to the court to battle Princeton's number 10. Gupta has faced challenges dealing with prior injury over the last few weeks, but was excited to take to the court in her first recorded match. Gupta battled hard, clinching the first two games, but ultimately fell 11-9 in the fifth after a very close match.

Eph head coach Hesham Aly was happy with the team's performance today: "We knew this would be a tough one, but I thought the team did a good job today keeping up with one of the top teams in the country. We are rounding out this part of the season strong and are excited about the preparation it's giving us for our closer matches in January".

The Ephs are content with their performance, and are looking forward to implementing what they learned in their next match against #9 ranked Columbia Sunday.