Currently ranked 12th in the nation in the latest Women's Intercollegiate Squash Association polls, the Jeffs are preparing for the Howe Cup. The Howe Cup is the national championship for squash, and last year the Jeffs placed second in the B Division.
Last week the Jeffs faced three difficult opponents and emerged from the week 1-2.
Although the team battled hard on Thursday, they eventually fell to Trinity College, which is ranked second nationally.
Facing Trinity, the team was nervous. "Going in we knew it would be tough," said Co-captain K.C. Giese '01. "We worked really hard all week since we would be playing Williams, so we were prepared for Trinity."
The Bantams soundly defeated the Jeffs 9-0, but several of the Jeffs played well. Roopali Agarwal '03 managed to score an impressive five points on three-time WISA All-American Janine Thompson. Co-captain Vanessa Champion '01 echoed that performance against the Bantam's Claire Austin. Susanna Burke '03, Katie Alburger '03 and Mary Frances Ford '02 also managed to score well against their opponents. Lindsey Snyder '02, who has just returned from a semester abroad, rejoined the team for the match and played well.
The most impressive performance of the night, however, came from Emily Stark '04. Stark managed to defeat Trinity's Amanda Todd 9-7 in a game and extend her match to four games.
"It was a very difficult match and we played as well as could be expected," said Giese. "Emily pulled out a game, which really surprised Trinity. They were not expecting that at all."
The loss to Trinity seemed to give the team a new resolve to win as they traveled to Williams to meet Wesleyan University and the Ephs for the Little III Tournament. The Jeffs started the tournament by crushing Wesleyan 9-0. The entire team stepped up to play solid, physical games.
"We were just much stronger and deeper than Wesleyan was all the way down the ladder," Champion said.
The same trend of strong play all throughout the lineup was again apparent against Williams. Although the Jeffs fell 9-0, they played exceptionally well. Ford and Snyder were particularly solid, making their opponents work hard for the win.
"This weekend really proved that we are playing a lot better," said Champion. "There were some really good matches against Williams, although the score didn't really reflect that. We are becoming a much stronger team."
The Jeffs will travel to Yale University for the Howe Cup this weekend. They will compete in the B Division again this year. which consists of teams that are currently ranked from ninth to 16th in the nation.
The most difficult opponent in the B Division will likely be 11th-ranked Colby College. The Jeffs have faced the White Mules twice this season, losing 7-2 and 6-3.
"We are in really good shape going into this," said Champion. "We are floating between 11th and 12th right now and would really like to finish in 11th. We didn't expect to be ranked this high at the end of the season."
This week of practice will prove crucial to the team. "Everyone needs to be healthy and really work hard," said Giese. "We are close to beating Colby. After last week we are in good shape, since Lindsey Snyder and Emily Stark have really improved."
Champion agreed and also stressed the importance of staying in top physical condition. "We need to be in better physical shape. We've been conditioning a lot, and this will most likely come down to which team can outlast the other," she said.
The first time the team met Colby, Giese and Burke took the two victories for the Jeffs; in the second match, Agarwal added the third win. With the improved play of late, the Jeffs hope that two more players will step up and propel the Jeffs to victory.
This weekend at Yale will determine the ultimate fate of the young team and has the potential to allow them to turn dreary preseason predictions into impressive postseason results.