After squashing Northeastern University in the season opener, the Jeffs were soundly defeated by national powerhouse Trinity College in their next match. Both the women and the men proved in the dual win against Northeastern that they have the potential to make a winning season. Against the top-ranked Trinity Bantams, however, the inexperience of Amherst’s young lineup led to 9-0 losses. The women’s and men’s squash teams now hold an overall record of 1-1 for the season.
Women
Before Thanksgiving Break, the young squad trumped the Northeastern Huskies 8-1. Sophomore Hayley Milbourn, playing in the number two position, took the first match for the Jeffs in straight sets. First-years Kate Savage and Megan Clower also earned points for the Jeffs in their collegiate debuts, playing the third and seventh spots respectively. The Jeffs’ top player Allie Daglish ’11 had a challenging match against Northeastern’s first seed Tessa Martin but she was the only Jeff to relinquish a point.
“There were a lot of nerves during our warm-up for Northeastern,” said senior captain Melissa Moulton. “I was impressed that our players, even those who were in their first ever college matches, were able to shake off the stress and really take control of their matches. Having match-level intensity at every practice has helped us eliminate match-day nerves.”
For their second match, the Jeffs knew from the start that the Bantams would be formidable opponents. “Trinity is a very, very talented team, attracting the best players from around the world,” said Moulton. “Coach Carmean encouraged us to think hard about what we stood to gain from such a tough match. We ran down every ball and did our best not to give anything away for free. We focused on competitiveness and level-headedness, qualities we’ll need to beat Tufts and Vassar.” Despite their best efforts, the Jeffs were unable to steal any points on Tuesday night.
Men
On Wednesday night before the break, the men held the Huskies scoreless to record a blowout 9-0 victory. Senior co-captains Jerome Giovinazzo and Ben Bishop led the squad in picking up the first two points for Amherst. Fellow senior Drew Blacker excelled at the top of Amherst’s lineup, taking out Northeastern’s Chris Birkins (9-3, 9-0, 9-6). Playing the third seed for the Jeffs, rookie Steve Severson ’11 had a standout performance and defeated his opponent without dropping a set.
The Jeffs saw a cruel role reversal on Tuesday night, suffering a 9-0 loss on Tuesday night when they had won their first victory with the same numbers against Northeastern just two weeks before. Trinity, currently ranked first in the Collegiate Squash Association’s rankings, offered tough competition that the young team was not able to overcome.
Despite the disappointing losses to Trinity, the Jeffs will have another opportunity to improve their record on Thursday night’s game against Tufts University.