The first match of Jan. 31 against the St. Lawrence Saints was an excellent arena for the Jeffs to showcase their wealth of young talent. Six of Amherst's top eight players won their individual matches in just three games apiece. All six are members of the first-year and sophomore classes.
Auloke Mathur '07 led off for Amherst in the number one slot, coming away with a decisive victory in which he gave his opponent only seven points (9-2, 9-5, 9-0). Nick Haslett '06 stepped up in the second spot as well with a three-game win (9-7, 9-1, 9-6). Sophomore Tyler Mixter and first-year Peter Hatfield put away their opponents with similar ease, giving up only six points apiece over three games. Stuart Landesberg '07 won authoritatively in the six spot (9-6, 9-7, 9-5). The number eight Jeff, Edward Schleyer '06, also won by a comfortable margin (9-1, 9-6, 9-5).
The underclassmen were bolstered by strong performances by members of the senior class. Playing in the fifth and seventh spots, respectively, co-captain Asad Haque and classmate Andrew Merle stymied their opponents. Haque gave up no points in his first and third games; Merle generously allowed his foe a single mark on the scoreboard in the first two games before shutting him out completely.
The dominance continued in the afternoon as Amherst showed its depth by shaking up the lineup for the match against Vassar. Gifford Sommerkamp '05 manned the number one spot. The match began with a close 10-8 win in game one and Sommerkamp pulled away from there, winning his second two 9-2 and 9-3. Haslett, Mixter, Hatfield and Haque mimicked their performances from the St. Lawrence match in the second through fifth spots, winning in three games apiece and giving their opponents only a handful of points.
Despite the plethora of crushing wins for Jeffs on the day, only co-captain Brian Lawrence '05 achieved perfection, beating Brewer Grant Hutchinson in the six spot 9-0 three times.
Moving up to the seventh spot, Schleyer again came away with a three-game victory. Josh Rilla '06 debuted for the squash team in the eighth spot and won easily (9-1, 9-3, 9-0). In the nine spot, senior Alexei Kudla defeated Ian Warthin in four games (9-6, 6-9, 9-5, 9-7).
Because the competition was relatively weak, some new faces took the court for the Jeffs. "It was nice to see everyone playing," said Haque. The team was pleased to see their bench coming up with victories as well.
The Jeffs have a busy slate this coming weekend as they host the Amherst Invitational. On Saturday Amherst faces a pair of opponents from Maine in 13th- and 14th-ranked Bowdoin and Bates Colleges, and on Sunday the team takes on Franklin and Marshall and Colby Colleges (12th and 20th).
We need to beat all these teams convincingly to maintain our ranking," said Haque. "This weekend will definitely be tougher, that's for sure."
If Amherst remains predictable, the Jeffs should come away with four more victories to double their win total for the season.