This past weekend the women’s squash team headed to the Howe Cup—its season-ending Nationals—in Princeton, N.J. It started off as a somewhat confusing weekend because there was a question as to exactly which division they would play in. The Jeffs were either going to be the last seed in Div. II or the first position in Div. III. Unfortunately, the College Squash Association (CSA) had some scheduling problems for this weekend, just like they did for the men’s nationals two weekends ago.

Amherst had been scheduled to play in the third division as the number one seed. The school, and the parents and fans planning to attend, made hotel reservations accordingly. When the coaches were alerted of a change in the rankings—thereby changing the division they were playing in—they appealed the change due to scheduling problems.

The confusion essentially resulted from the women not knowing whether they were 16th or 17th in the national rankings. Their win over Tufts University at NESCACs two weeks ago had not seemed to change the CSA rankings around, but, apparently, it should have.

When the CSA tried to fix up the mess it had created, it was already too late. In the end, the CSA agreed to have the women play in the Div. III bracket as the one seed. When the news arrived, spirits seemed high for the Jeffs; the women were happy to be the number one seed.

The competition got under way on Friday, pitting the women against the Northeastern University Huskies. Unfortunately for Northeastern, their players weren’t husky enough to bring down Amherst. The women rolled through the match, winning 8-1. Allie Dalglish ’11, Amherst’s top seed, was the only Jeff to fall, an outcome that is not uncommon in collegiate squash. Often, teams that are not on the top of the rankings have a player who is far and away above the rest of the team, and Dalglish seemed to encounter one in Tessa Martin of Northeastern.

Hayley Milbourn ’11, Libby Martin ’08, Moriah Donelan ’08 and Mimi Bell ’11 all got off to rough starts, losing a game to their respective opponents before finishing strong. The team also felt the absence of senior co-captain Di Kirkwood. After getting sick on Friday, she was not able to play in the match against Northeastern, bumping everyone in the fifth spot and below up a rank.

Her illness continued through Saturday, and Kirkwood was not able to play in the semifinal round. This left it up to the bottom half of the lineup to hold up the Jeffs’ ranking. Vassar College was the next opponent for Amherst, and a worthy opponent considering the team’s condition.

Milbourn, Martin, Donelan and Laurel LaMontagne ’09 all defeated their opponents. Melissa Moulton ’09, playing up in the five spot, started out well but burned out late in her match. Dalglish also fell in a hard-fought five-game match. The women put up a good fight overall, but were not able to bring home the last win for the Jeffs.

In the 19th-20th playoff (referring to the national rankings the match decides) the women were out to fight for their ill teammate. Though Amherst beat William Smith College 7-2 earlier in the season with the lineup intact, the fact that Kirkwood wasn’t able to play seemed to point to a closer match.

The women did not want a recurrence of Saturday’s events against Vassar, and they knew they had to hunker down to salvage their Howe Cup showing this year. Fortunately, the Jeffs came out swinging and never stopped. They crushed William Smith 9-0, letting everyone know why they were the one seed that weekend. Hannah Merves ’10 had a particularly grueling match, stopping her opponent from a comeback win in the final game.

Overall, the women suffered an unlucky loss, but finished off the weekend strong, which bodes well for next season. Looking back on this season, senior co-captain Libby Martin said, “[The] victories throughout the season … meant a lot to me. Upsetting Tufts … will always stay in my mind … [and] the many times that we decisively beat Middlebury. I have really enjoyed getting to know our five [first-years] and wish them the best of luck as the program continues to grow!”