Though its season has had its troughs and crests, the 17th-ranked women’s squash team enters its final tournaments with confidence. Following their loss against powerhouse Trinity College, the Jeffs went on to close the 2007 year with a record of 4-2. Upon returning from winter break, the team experienced a temporary streak of shut-outs to teams variously ranked six to 15 positions higher by the College Squash Association. Recent victories over the more closely-ranked Middlebury College Panthers and Hobart William Smith College (HWS) Herons, however, have broken that streak in time for the final tournaments of the season.
After falling to the Tufts University Jumbos by a tight 5-4 score on Dec. 6, the Jeffs picked up two wins, 8-1 and 7-2, respectively, over Vassar College and Columbia University on Dec. 8. Topping off the pre-2008 winning streak, an easy 9-0 victory over Smith College showcased blinding performances from senior co-captain Libby Martin and first-years Hayley Milbourn, Caitlin Demkin and Allie Dalglish.
After returning from the break to sharpen their skills in the 5-Women Tournament hosted at Williams, the women dropped a tough 9-0 loss to the 4th-ranked Bulldogs in the first match of the Jan. 12 Yale Invitational. The second match against 18th-ranked NESCAC rival Middlebury saw Martin catalyzing the team towards a 6-3 victory.
Facing a daunting lineup of 7th-ranked Dartmouth College, 11th-ranked Mt. Holyoke University, 2nd-ranked University of Pennsylvania, 9th-ranked Brown University and 10th-ranked Cornell University, Amherst fell 9-0 in each of the five matches. Milbourn, however, inspired the team throughout the formidable succession of matches with fierce performances, playing tight games one slot higher than usual against Mt. Holyoke, stealing a team-high four points in her second game against her Penn opponent and taking the team’s only winning game against Brown. “Hayley has made significant progress from the beginning of the season,” says Martin. “She has definitely become more confident on the court.”
After the final 9-0 loss to Cornell, the Jeffs broke the streak by blanking Franklin & Marshall College and fighting through a close 6-3 loss to Colby College in the Mt. Holyoke/Smith Invitational. Milbourn, first-year Mimi Bell and sophomore Hannah Merves were able to secure wins in the second match against the Colby White Mules. In the following match against 12th-ranked Hamilton College, the Jeffs lost 8-1, with Milbourn once again the lone Jeff to take a winning match (3-0).
As the season approaches tournaments against closer-ranked opponents, the Jeffs gather the momentum from their last two games and look to consolidate the lessons learned from their difficult opponents. “We’ve learned a lot and we’re excited for the opportunity to put our best foot forward in the coming matches,” said junior Laurel LaMontagne. The Jeffs will rest before heading to Trinity College on Feb. 2 and 3 for the NESCAC Tournament.