On Friday, the Jeffs faced NESCAC foe Connecticut College. The Jeffs won handily by a score of 9-0. Senior co-captain Caroline Shannon won a five-game match at the number one position. Pulling ahead to a comfortable lead in the first two games, 9-2 and 9-3, Shannon dropped the next two 4-9 and 8-10. Drawing on her tenacious and competitive spirit, Shannon was able to win the last game 9-4. A similar scenario was played out by senior co-captain Emily O'Brien at the number two position.
Junior Libby Martin won with ease in the third position in three quick games 9-4, 9-2, 9-3. Sarah Harper '07, Di Kirkwood '08, Melissa Moulton '09, Heather Nowak '08, and Emery Sweeney '07 all defeated their opponents in three games as well.
In the tournament's semifinal round on Saturday, the Jeffs faced Franklin & Marshall College. Again the women won by a lopsided score, this time 8-1. In the first position, Caroline Shannon won her match in three games after her opponent was forced to forfeit due to an injury in the third game. The rest of the squad perpetuated the winning spirit, each of the remaining players winning their match in three games. The one loss came in the ninth position, as sophomore two-sport athlete Laurel LaMontagne fell in a close four-game match 9-6, 6-9, 9-5, 9-7. "While I'm on the court, I often regress back to a big tennis swing; had I not been so worried about giving the girl a concussion with my squash racket, I think I would have been able to pull out a win," said La Montagne. "It's really difficult going between two sports which seem similar, but have dramatically different strokes. Losing helped me realize that I really need to work on treating squash like it's own game-it's more about finesse than power."
In the Division C Finals on Sunday the Jeffs confronted William Smith College who was ranked first in the tournament. The Jeffs suffered a 6-3 defeat in a tight match. Shannon, O'Brien and Kirkwood all won their matches in four games in the number one, two and six positions, respectively. In the number three position Martin fell 5-9, 5-9, in the first two games but came back to win 9-1 in the third game. Martin was unable to carry her momentum through the rest of the match, losing the last game 9-3. Abby Mantica '07, Harper, Moulton, Nowak, and LaMontagne all lost, leaving the Jeffs with the same number two ranking with which they entered the tournament.
The Howe Cup culminates a successful postseason for the Amherst women.
"The Howe Cup was a lot of fun, especially watching the top teams like Princeton University and Yale. It gives us an idea of where our team needs to develop and the motivation to continue improving," said La Montagne. "Our team also demonstrated some of the best sportsmanship of all the teams there-while we may not be a top team on paper, the girls on our team represent the best of character."
A couple of the top Amherst women on the team will participate in the CSA Individual Tournament on March 2, but for the rest of the team the season is over.
"Although we didn't win the whole tournament it was a really fun and successful weekend for everyone," said Nowak. "I have had a great time with everyone on the team and it was sad to see the seniors' last match-they will definitely be missed next year."