Men
The men’s squash team delivered a decisive drubbing to the Brewers last Saturday, beating them 9-0 to finish off the calendar year. With this victory, the Jeffs take a 2-0 record into the break.
The match was as decisive as the score suggests. The Lord Jeffs recorded a 3-0 victory in all nine spots, with the closest match coming between sophomore Zach Porges and Vassar first-year Andrew Lindsay, which Porges won 11-8, 11-7, 11-5. Todd Lavine ’12 had a particularly overwhelming performance, allowing only a total of three points as the number four player in the Jeffs’ lineup.
The men’s squash team is not taking the lopsided victory and the coming break as a reason to let up, though. “While team members will heartily enjoy celebrating the holidays and gaining a respite from academics, they will keep fine-tuning their games for Interterm, the meat of the squash season,” said senior co-captain Lee Banta. Games to watch include a visit to Brown University and the Amherst Invitational, where the Jeffs look to take down Franklin & Marshall College. The Jeffs’ ranks will be bolstered by the return of juniors Kevin Cecala, Tom Rapisarda, Jacob Glass and Marcello Cifuentes, who were studying abroad this semester.
Women
The women’s squash team had a much closer match against the Brewers than the men did but were able to prevail, winning with a close score of 5-4.
Indicative of how well-matched the Jeffs and the Brewers were, there was only one sweep in the entire match. First-year Chandler Lusardi provided the only 3-0 win for the Jeffs, taking down Vassar College junior Kristine Bell in the number two spot. The closest game came between sophomore Kate Savage and Vassar first-year Libby Pei. After four back-and-forth games that tied it up at 2-2, Pei pulled off a thrilling finish to defeat Savage 14-12.
As a whole, the Jeffs had to grind out win after win to beat their opponents. Sophomore Anna Scheidt’s match was an example of this. “Scheidt played an excellent match against Vassar,” said senior co-captain Hannah Merves. “After losing her first game she was able to remain mentally tough and tire her opponent out.”
The match yesterday against Smith was a much easier affair. The Jeffs dominated the Pioneers, taking the game 9-0 and sweeping in every match.
The Jeffs hope to use the time over break well. According to Merves, “The bulk of our matches will be over Interterm, so we expect it to be a tough but fun time!”