Harper was key in the number- six spot, and was able to pull out victories in close matches against Tufts University and Colby and Middlebury Colleges. Sophomore Heather Nowak, who has only played in one match for the Jeffs this year, has been promoted to the number-nine spot. Harper's absence was sorely felt at the NESCAC Championship and will be missed even more in the upcoming Howe Cup Team Championships, where the Jeffs will be competing against some of the best teams in the nation.
The Jeffs began their week in Connecticut playing the Yale University Bulldogs, ranked number one in the nation. The match was not a pretty one, and despite New Haven's infamously high crime rate, the 16th-ranked Jeffs were unable to steal a single match from their hosts. Senior Margo Nathan put up the best fight, falling 9-0, 9-1, 9-4. All of the Jeffs were blanked in at least one of their games, with three players failing to score a single point. With this less than fortuitous start, the Jeffs forged ahead to the NESCAC Championship, which took place over the weekend.
Amherst seemed to regain its footing in its first match on Friday, which was against number 21-ranked Tufts. The squad took on Tufts in the beginning of the season and pulled out a 6-3 victory. In the previous meeting between these squads, number-one player junior Caroline Shannon had a great match against her Jumbo. After losing her first two games 6-9, she refocused and won her third 10-8 and was able to mop up 9-4, 9-5. Di Kirkwood '08 also had a close game but came out on the other side, falling 9-7, 0-9, 10-9, 4-9, 10-8.
Despite a Harper deficiency, the team was able to pull out a more decisive victory this time around. Shannon had another close match, but this time limited her opponent to four games and won 9-4, 5-9, 9-5, 9-5. Number-three player sophomore Libby Martin staged a phenomenal comeback after trailing in her first game, 8-1. She proceeded to score nine straight points to take the first game 10-8 before winning her next two with matching 9-4 tallies.
Senior co-captain and number-four player Lauren Coape-Arnold also pulled out an impressive victory. After winning her first two games 9-7, she capitulated in the third 8-10, but was able to come back with a 10-8 win to seal her 3-1 victory. Kirkwood, who has claimed Harper's former number-six slot, honored her absent teammate with a three-game victory. The Jeffs took the Jumbos 7-2, an encouraging indication of the improvement the team has worked so hard to attain throughout the season.
Unfortunately, this improvement was a little harder to ascertain in the next match of the tournament, which pitted the Jeffs against the top-ranked NESCAC team and third-ranked team in the country, Trinity College. The eventual tournament champions handed Amherst an unceremonious 9-0 sweep. While this result may seem disheartening to outside observers, such disparity is routine in squash and demands the right perspective. "We all don't get down about playing teams like Yale and Trinity because we just try to get points," says Martin.
Considering that 9-0 scores are almost unavoidable when playing Div. I schools and powerhouses-like Trinity-who actively recruit squash players, this mindset is preferable. The best match of this contest was at the number-six spot. Kirkwood was the only Jeff to score in all three games, and lost 1-9, 6-9, 1-9. Junior number-two player Emily O'Brien fought her Bantam to a 0-9, 4-9, 3-9. This loss put the Jeffs in the Consolation round.
The team returned to the courts on Saturday against Colby College. At the beginning of second semester, the Jeffs pulled out a big 5-4 victory against the White Mules to end a seven-game losing streak. After letting her first game slip 6-9, junior Abby Mantica was able to perservere and win the next three matches. With the score tied 4-4, Kirkwood won the deciding match in the number-seven spot.
On Saturday, Shannon led the squad to battle with a hard-fought victory. Though she lost her first two games 3-9, 6-9, Shannon was able to outlast her opponent to finish the game 9-4, 9-3, 9-5. This time around Mantica stayed in front of her White Mule opponent the whole time, winning the match 9-4, 9-1, 9-7.
"What made the difference in this match [as opposed to her last Mule encounter] was that I was able to immediately exploit my opponent's weakness," said Mantica. "I concentrated on driving the ball low and hard to her weak hand side and was able to win in three games."
Hanley was able to pull out a close victory at the seven slot, 10-8, 7-9, 9-7, 9-3. Nowak contributed to the effort at the number-nine spot with her first win of this season, taking her Colby opponent in four games, 9-3, 9-4, 7-9, 9-6. Despite these efforts, Colby was able to edge by five Jeffs for the win 4-5.
The team has a chance to regroup after a busy week. The Jeffs are looking forward to meeting a few teams who have edged them in the past, and Colby is at the top of their list. The squad resumes play Feb. 24th for its last team competition of the season at Harvard University for the Howe Cup.