At Wednesday's match, only Northeastern's number-one seed Khurram Khan managed to take a single game when he charged Amherst's sophomore Drew Blacker; at every other spot down the ladder, the Jeffs soundly defeated their opponents in straight games.
"Our opening match against Northeastern is an event that we always look forward to," said senior Stuart Landesberg, who plays in the number-three spot. "The president of Northeastern is an Amherst squash alum and two former players have gone on to coach there. The ties between the two programs are very strong."
But victory was not the only thing Amherst gained from the game. Fielding almost the entire Jeff lineup, many of the younger players managed to pick up valuable court experience early on in the season, in preparation for the Jeffs' more challenging opponents down the road.
The tide turned against the Jeffs as they faced off against Navy on Friday. Despite the disparity in rankings-Amherst occupied the number 10 spot in the nation, five spots above the Navy Midshipmen-it was a struggle for the Jeffs right from the start. "With few exceptions, we came out ready to play, but we let our confidence get shaken by their intensity out of the gates," said Landesberg. "The whole team wishes they could have the Navy match back."
Though the overall result was a disappointment, the Jeffs did see some bright spots over the course of the contest. Senior co-captain Auloke Mather won three of his four games to notch a win in the upper regions of the Jeffs' ladder, while sophomores Gautam Kalani and Jerome Giovinazzo, numbers eight and nine respectively, efficiently dispatched their adversaries in three convincing games each, demonstrating once again that depth is the essential weapon in the Amherst lineup. At the number-five spot, sophomore Ben Bishop's steady confidence propelled him to a come-from-behind win over Navy's Michael Beautyman.
"Auloke played a great match to win at number two," said Landesberg, "while Gautam and Jerome's blowout wins proved that depth and will continue to be our strength. Ben Bishop played his first truly competitive intercollegiate match and performed better than anyone could have hoped-his hard work and improvement will be more and more valuable as we continue to gear up for the meat of the season."
In response to the Navy setback, the team has only grown more determined to blast through the remainder of its season. The team's major season-defining matches-against Cornell and Brown Universities and Dartmouth and Williams Colleges-still await the Jeffs, and the team is alert to the fact that their goals remain well within reach. "Navy was a wake-up call for us," commented Landesberg. "I don't think anyone can believe we let them beat us and I don't think anyone doubts that if we play them again in nationals we will win handily."
NESCAC Notes
Many teams in the NESCAC look strong this season with Bates College towering over Tufts University 6-3 and Colby College beating MIT 9-0. Trinity College looks promising too with its huge 9-0 win over Williams College.