The Jeffs began their week by traveling to Boston to take on MIT. Amherst took the match 8-1, with each one of the eight victories taken in a dominating fashion, 3-0.
David Bauer '03 was impressed with the team's cohesive efforts. "We knew going into it that we were the stronger team. It was nice to see everyone still playing hard and not letting up," he said.
The following evening, the team hosted perennial squash powerhouse Harvard University in a difficult matchup. The Crimson was ranked second in the latest national rankings and their line-up boasts five of the top 20 players in the country. The Jeffs fell 9-0, but were proud of their efforts against such a talented team. "Many of the matches were closer than the final score reflected," said West. Most notably, Roger Boulay '03 was able to steal a game from his opponent, Harvard's David Barry, before eventually falling 15-6, 14-15, 15-8, 15-9.
Most recently, the Jeffs traveled to arch-rival Williams College where they participated in the Little III championships. Unfortunately, the Jeffs fell to the sixth ranked Ephs, but then rebounded with a convincing 6-3 win over the Wesleyan University Cardinals. West, Bauer, Brody, Piercarlo Valdesolo '03, John Holodnak '03 and freshman Asaad Haque all pulled out crucial wins for the Jeffs. Haque also had an exciting match against Chris Delaney of Williams, eventually falling 16-17, 15-6, 15-4, 15-5.
Next week the Jeffs will host Yale University on Saturday and then face Princeton University at Trinity College on Sunday. "Both teams are ranked very high in the country right now, but hopefully we'll continue to play our best and fare very well," said West. With the recent matches, the Jeff record has improved to a respectable 6-7.