CLINTON, N.Y. - The Williams College women's squash team dropped a 5-4 result to Middlebury College in the opening match of the NESCAC Championships held at Hamilton College.
The #16-ranked Ephs were almost able to pull off the upset against #13 Middlebury, winning at positions 5-8, but the Panthers held out to win the match late and advance in the tournament.
Williams won comfortably at 7 and 8, with Alicia Chen earning a 3-0 win (11-7, 11-5, 11-9) and Naomi Jefferson-Sambanis also winning 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-5). The Ephs' other two wins came at 5 and 6, both 3-1 victories, from Roshni Pal (11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9) and Anika Kakarla (16-14, 5-11, 11-5, 11-2).Â
At #9, Mahika Gupta came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to force a fifth game, but the Panthers were able to prevail and win the match. Each of the top three in the Ephs' order also won a game: Rhea Pandit at #1, Melanie Wang at #2, and Rachel Miller at #3.Â
The result means the Ephs have been knocked out of the tournament, but the team will be back at home next weekend for a pair of NESCAC matches, first hosting Bates College on Saturday at 4pm, followed by Wesleyan on Sunday at 11am.
