The Jeffs began their winning ways by posting an impressive 3-1 record at the Williams Invitational on Jan. 11 and 12 in Williamstown. Though the Jeffs came off a 35-day rest, they came out strong, beginning the weekend with an impressive 9-0 victory over Wellesley College, which was highlighted by Liz Martin '04's dominating victory at the number five position.
Later that day, the Jeffs went on to defeat NESCAC rival Colby College's White Mules by a score of 6-3. Co-captain Susanna Burke '03 and Ashley Harmeling '05, who played one and two respectively, each posted impressive wins. Both women gave up only six points to their opponents. Additionally, co-captain Roopali Agarwal '03 notched an important win at number four singles.
The Jeffs returned to action on Sunday, Jan. 12, first squeaking past Bates College by a score of 5-4 before losing to Bowdoin College 6-3. Harmeling and Agarwal recorded two victories apiece on Sunday to compile impressive 4-0 records over the two-day event.
After a break of just two days, the Jeffs returned to action on Jan. 15, when they traveled to Hanover, N.H. to play Dartmouth College. The Big Green was ranked fifth in the nation at the time and the 11th-ranked Jeffs knew that this would be one of the most difficult matches of the year. The combination of Dartmouth's home court advantage and superior play proved too much, and Amherst lost 9-0 despite another strong performance by Harmeling at the number two position.
If Amherst thought traveling to Dartmouth was difficult, then their Jan. 16 match against the number one team in the country, NESCAC foe Trinity College, promised to be impossible. The host Bantams entered the match undefeated and had the unanimous vote for top team in the nation. Their dominance was apparent as they handily defeated the Jeffs 9-0. Despite a valiant effort, the Jeffs were unable to take a game from the Bantams.
However, after two difficult road matches, Amherst found the strength to bounce back on Friday, Jan. 17 at home on the Davenport Squash Courts when they began play in the weekend-long Amherst Invitational.
Amherst opened the tournament with an impressive 9-0 victory over Middlebury College. Liz Martin '04 posted the most dominating shutout victory of the afternoon, winning her three games in the number four spot 9-3, 9-0 and 9-0.
Amherst returned to action on Saturday morning for the second round of the tournament, easily defeating Mount Holyoke College by a score of 7-2. That afternoon the Lord Jeffs returned to the courts where they easily disposed of Little III rival Wesleyan University, 9-0. Ann Macrae '04 lost only four points in her afternoon shutout victory over Wesleyan's Shani Pavel.
The women's squash team continued their dominance of the Amherst Invitational on Sunday in the final rounds with victories over Colby and Vassar Colleges. The Jeffs first defeated the White Mules behind a Burke victory at the number one position as well as a strong performance by Harmeling, who gave up only one point in the number two spot.
Although Amherst defeated Vassar 6-3, the afternoon matches were much more competitive. The Jeffs needed tough, come-from-behind victories from Agarwal and Macrae to ensure a win for the team. Agarwal came back from a two-game deficit to win 10-8 in the fifth deciding game.
After the Jeffs' five-game winning streak, Amherst lost to visiting Brown University on Jan. 21. The Brown Bears came into the match ranked seventh nationally, so the 11th ranked Lord Jeffs did not lose any ground in the ranking despite losing 7-2. Harmeling and Martin posted the only victories for the Jeffs.
Despite a few tough losses to highly-ranked competition, the women remain pleased with their performance as a whole. "The girls have hung in there," said Agarwal. "Everyone's up and playing really well."
Amherst travels to Wellesley College on Thursday before playing Princeton University on Sunday at Yale University.