The men’s squash team kicked off their 2007-08 season this past Wednesday at Northeastern University. The match was a rousing success, as the men triumphed 8-1 over their opponents, with both veterans and newcomers performing to the best of their abilities. While the victory came as no surprise, it was nevertheless indicative of the Jeffs’ winning mentality and desire to start the season on solid footing. Furthermore, the victory, and the confidence it has inspired in the players, stood as a springboard for yesterday’s match against Trinity College, one of the nation’s strongest squash programs.

The tide of the match was in Amherst’s favor from the very beginning, as veteran players Drew Blacker ’09 and senior co-captain Mark Rapisarda both defeated their opponents 3-1 in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, respectively. That momentum carried into the third position, as first-year Tom Rapisarda earned his first collegiate victory, 3-1, winning the first, third and fourth games of his match.

The competition appeared to pick up in the fifth position, as first-year Kevin Cecala dropped his first game. Unfazed, Cecala gathered himself and won the next three games in a tough fight, as he only narrowly took the third game. His win marked the first of his collegiate career. In addition to the two come-from-behind victories (Blacker’s match was won in the same fashion as Cecala’s), the match saw a handful of 3-0 wins. Senior co-captain Andrew Slutsky and juniors Brian Warner and Ben Bishop all won their matches in three straight games in the No. 4, No. 6 and No. 7 positions, respectively. Competing in the eighth position, sophomore Lee Banta suffered a near loss, but was able to pull out a 3-2 victory. This close call was followed by the Jeffs’ only loss of the day, as sophomore Saahil Sud fell to his opponent, 1-3.

“Wednesday’s performance was a good warm-up and allowed us to sharpen up our skills in competition,” explained the elder Rapisarda. “Our real challenge comes on Tuesday against Trinity—I’m hoping the momentum from our win will give us that extra boost.”

Amherst suffered a clean sweep by Trinity College on Tuesday night. The Bantams, who are currently the nationally top-ranked team, handily defeated the Jeffs, 9-0. The Jeffs did, however, manage to pick up a couple of games along the way. Warner had a great showing at the eighth position, refusing to fall in three straight sets. He forced his opponent to play out a fourth game, but eventually ended up losing 3-1. Bishop also won his first game, 9-4, but unfortunately pulled a muscle while leading 2-0 in the second game. After finishing the next two points, Bishop had to default on his match because of the injury.

The blowout dropped the Jeffs’ record to 1-1, and they return to the courts tomorrow against Tufts University.