As Amherst College rests under a heavy blanket of snow, the members of the women's squash team are rousing to the tune of practice, practice, practice. As the rest of the student body arrived back on campus carrying the joys of holiday feasting in more than just warm memories, the players have been squashing it up six days a week. And as we prepare for the crunch of finals, the women's squash team will be flexing their muscles.

The women are currently ranked 11th in the nation-a respectable position as the field is replete with Div. I schools. Last year the Jeffs saw a lot of 9-0 sweeps, and many of these scores were easy victories for Amherst, notably the games against Hamilton, Smith, Wellesley, Vassar and Mt. Holyoke Colleges and Wesleyan University.

The other 9-0 sweeps were crushing defeats for the Jeffs at the hands of Yale, Brown and Princeton Universities and Dartmouth College. The Jeffs ended their 12-8 season with a few scores to settle, including the 5-4 loss to Cornell University in the regular season.

In the second round of Nationals, Cornell cast the Jeffs into the losers' bracket with a 6-3 match to steal 10th place from the Jeff squad which had held the position at the start of the 2004-05 season. Amherst also looks forward to the matches against Bates and Williams Colleges, ranked ninth and eighth, respectively. Bates ended the Jeffs' season in 2003 with a close 5-4 match and bested them again last season in a tough contest that was closer than its 7-2 tally. Williams swept the Jeffs a little too easily last year in a 9-0 victory. But the Jeffs should also be wary of their rear, as St. Lawrence University, who the Jeffs downed 8-1 in the regular season, came very close to toppling Amherst in an intense season-ending match which the Jeffs won 5-4.

Happily, the Jeffs have the means with which to settle these scores, even though their roster suffered the loss of two solid contributors who have graduated. Last year's Senior co-captain and three-sport athlete Ashley Harmeling dominated for three seasons at the number one spot. She ended her squash career with a trip to the Holleran Cup semifinals at the CSA Women's Championships last year, but was stopped there by the eventual tournament champion, Lauren McCrery of Yale. Ali Gibbs, also a senior co-captain in 2004-05, greatly contributed from the middle of the nine-person roster, posting key wins at the close of the season against Cornell and St. Lawrence. Despite these losses, the Jeffs sport a deep and experienced roster that is ready perform.

"Our team this year is a group of talented, athletic players who will be able to deal with the loss of the two starting seniors," said Abby Mantica '07. "This year our big matches will be against Cornell and Bates. The team is playing well in practice, so we are optimistic."

Caroline Shannon '07 seems ready to fill the void left in Harmeling's wake. Last year Shannon stepped up to the number-one position, twice leading the Jeffs to 9-0 victories. She was also the only other Jeff to compete in the Holleran Cup with Harmeling, and was able to win in the consolation bracket before falling to the eventual consolation champion.

The new senior co-captains are Scotty Hanley and Lauren Coape-Arnold. Sophomore Libby Martin spent last season slowly making her way up the lineup, settling in the number-three spot last year, and number-four junior Emily O'Brien will also return. Juniors Mantica, Emily Zandy and Sarah Harper were solid contributors from the six, seven and eight spots, respectively, and will return again this season.

The Jeffs kick off their season today at Northeastern University.