WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College women's squash team beat a closely-ranked team for the second time in as many days, topping Bowdoin College 8-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Simon Squash Center.
The Ephs came into the weekend ranked #16, and beat #18 Bowdoin comfortably on Sunday, a day after beating #17 Colby by a 7-2 score. Against the Polar Bears, the Ephs won at positions 1-8 on the ladder, with only two of the matches going more than three games.
Williams set the tone early, with the first three players on court all winning their matches 3-0 in less than 25 minutes. Alicia Chen won 11-6, 11-5, 11-1 at #7, Anika Kakarla won 11-5, 11-2, 12-10 at #6, and at #1, Melanie Wong won 11-7, 12-10, 11-6.
The next round of matches brought two more 3-0 wins for the Ephs, with Rhea Pandit winning 11-2, 11-5, 11-8 at #2 and Roshni Pal winning 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 at #4. Bowdoin got its lone win at #9 as Annie Chang ran into a strong opponent.
Naomi Jefferson-Sambanis won quickly at #8, 11-4, 11-5, 11-1, and the final two matches on court were closer, with #5 Sophia Koehler winning in four, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, and #2 Frances Brooks playing a smart match to top her opponent 3-1 as well (11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11).
The Ephs will next hit the road after their string of home matches, first traveling to Middlebury College next Saturday, followed by visits to Amherst, Tufts, and Dartmouth, and then the NESCAC Championship at Hamilton, before hosting Bates and Wesleyan on February 21 and 22.
