The men’s team suffered a six-match losing streak since the beginning of the new year but finally managed to claim a solid victory (7-2) over Hobart College this past Saturday.
The women’s team had an action-packed schedule, posting mixed results for 12 matches over Interterm. Despite their early losses on the road, the Jeffs continued their run of victories by defeating Franklin and Marshall College 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.
Women
The Jeffs knew that fifth-ranked Yale would provide fierce competition for their first match of the year. Rising star player Amelia Bell ’11 was the only Jeff that took a point from the Bulldogs, and fellow sophomore standout Alexandra Dalglish kept the score close (10-8, 9-4, 9-7) in her three-game loss in the No. 1 match. The next day, Dalglish and senior captain Melissa Moulton kept their opponents scoreless in Amherst’s 8-1 victory over St. Lawrence College.
In their third week back into the season, the Jeffs dropped two matches on the road to Brown University (9-0) and Mt. Holyoke College (7-2) before facing Connecticut College in the Yale Invitational. The women opened the tournament with a spectacular sweep, taking out the Camels 9-0.
On the same day, the Jeffs dropped a heartbreakingly close match to George Washington University (GW) 5-4. Caitlin Demkin ’11 and Dalglish both came out victorious after grueling five-game matches. Sophomore Hayley Milbourn won her No. 2 match in three straight games and rookie Anna Scheidt ’12 pulled through for Amherst in four games at the No. 4 spot.
The Jeffs were also defeated 6-3 by Bowdoin College the next day, with their three winning matches coming from Bell, Megan Clower ’12 and Caroline Dreyspool ’12.
Amherst dropped yet another match — this time to Brown University — but quickly recovered this past weekend with four back-to-back wins. After convincingly tackling Colby College 8-1 and sweeping Wellesley College off the court 9-0, the Jeffs took out William-Smith College 7-2 and Franklin Marshall College 6-3.
“Colby was a huge win for us because last year we barely competed against them,” said Dalglish ’11. “This past weekend was some of the best squash I have seen so far. We won 4 matches that we were not sure we would win.”
“I was thrilled and proud that the team went 4-0 in this season’s last set of home matches,” said Moulton. “Hayley Milbourn set the tone by stepping onto the court confident and ready to play at the top of her game. I’m especially proud of Anna Scheidt and Caitlin Demkin. They controlled their nerves and played some flawless games. These wins will give us a lot of confidence going into NESCACs next weekend, where we hope to have the chance to avenge close losses in rematches with GW and Bowdoin.”
The women improved their overall record to 10-7 with their latest victories. They step back onto the court next week for the NESCAC tournament.
Men
The men had a similarly ominous start to 2009 by losing their first match back into the season to the Bulldogs 9-0. The Jeffs lost a fairly close match to St. Lawrence College the next day 6-3. Senior Drew Blacker came through at the top of the ladder despite a competitive three-game match (9-6, 9-6, 9-4), and senior co-captain Jerome Giovinazzo handily beat his opponent in straight sets at the No. 2 spot. First-year Todd Lavine also added to the Jeffs’ points with a victory as the No. 6 player.
The Jeffs next faced two Ivy League powerhouses, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania. Senior co-captain Ben Bishop and Brad Corbin ’09 were the only Jeffs to take a game from the Big Green in the 9-0 shutout. The Amherst men’s squad also fell to the seventh-ranked Quakers on the road. Bishop managed to win a game at the No. 3 spot, but the team experienced another 9-0 loss.
Against Brown University, which ranks just one spot above Amherst, the men expected more success than their 7-2 loss. Seniors Giovinazzo and Blacker took a pair of wins for the Jeffs on home courts, with first-year Steve Severson fighting valiantly at No. 3 but ultimately dropping the five-game match to Brown’s Adam Greenberg.
“I think we’re all a little bit disappointed with our results, especially in our matches with Brown and St. Lawrence. I know I wish I myself had performed better,” commented Severson.
“We still have a chance to salvage the season next weekend at NESCACs though, and we’ve been training really hard ever since Brown to get in shape for those matches. It was definitely really good to get a win versus Hobart so we have some confidence going into next weekend, and I think that with all the work we’ve been putting in we can definitely turn the season around.”
This past Friday, the men confronted their toughest opponent yet. The Jeffs took another gracious 9-0 defeat, chalking up the match as valuable experience against the nation’s fourth-ranked team.
The most recent match against Hobart College, ranked 27th, on Saturday was on safer ground. The Jeffs were able to showcase their improvement and easily won 7-2 to bring their overall record to 4-7 for the season.
“It was great for our freshmen to get some wins under their belts,” said Giovinazzo ’09. “Steve Severson had lost two physically exhausting five game matches against St. Lawrence and Brown. He bounced back against Hobart with some fancy cross court drops and good old fashioned rails. Todd Lavine, who ran he opponent into submission (default victory) has been slowly improving since the beginning of the season. And by nationals, who knows, maybe he’ll be playing at the top of our lineup.”
The Jeffs are determined to step up their level of play and earn a smashing victory against Bowdoin this weekend.