Men
The Jeffs came into the tournament as the sixth seed and faced 11th-seeded Wesleyan University in the first round of the tournament. The Jeffs got off to a fast start in the tournament, sweeping the Cardinals 9-0. Amherst only gave up one game, given up by first-year Charles Loesch-Quintin in the two spot, en route to a win in the opening round.
The next day, the Jeffs were unable to take the momentum to the next match, however, as they fell to the third-seeded Bates College. The Jeffs were unable to take a single match as they were swept in the second round of the match. They didn’t let the loss phase them in the next match, though, as they were able to defeat seventh-seeded Tufts University by a score of 6-3. On the final day of the NESCAC Tournament, the Jeffs faced off against Middlebury College, and dropped the match 7-2.
In the midst of the tournament was the story of junior Brian Warner. Warner was hit in the face by a racquet during the match against Bates and was taken out of the game. He required stitches over his left eye. After his mother, a doctor, stitched him up, Warner came back to battle it out against his Tufts opponent. Though he had to withdraw again from the match against Tufts due to continued bleeding, he was able to recover in time to play against Middlebury. “It was a difficult five game contest in which I had to battle a splitting headache,” said Warner. “In the third game I was down 10-4 and was able to rally and win the game 12-10. Unfortunately, this was not enough to win the match but overall, I did the best I could.”
The Jeffs next head to Yale University for the College Squash Association National Tournament (CSA Team Championships) on Feb. 19.
Women
The fifth-seeded Jeffs received a bye on the first round of the NESCAC Tournament, so their first match came against a fourth-seeded Middlebury squad on the second day of tournament play. The match-up was important partly because the two teams were so close in skill level. Unfortunately, Amherst was unable to take the first match, losing 6-3. “Middlebury has been our biggest rival throughout this season as they are one slot above us in the national rankings at 13,” said senior co-captain Hannah Merves. “We played a hard-fought match against Middlebury … with a number of five-game matches.”
However, they were able to turn things around later in the day as they swept eighth-seeded Wesleyan. They followed up this performance the next day with a 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Hamilton College to finish in fifth place overall.
Rookie Anne Piper responded to her first NESCAC Tournament by going 3-0. Junior Hayley Milbourn, playing in the top spot for the Amherst squad, also posted a perfect record for the tournament.
The women’s squash team is now preparing for the CSA Team Championships on Feb. 26. “We are very much looking forward to the [CSA Tournament],” said Merves. “We hope to face Middlebury again there and end the season with a victory against them. All in all, our progress throughout this season has been very impressive — we started off the season ranked 17th in the nation and have moved up to 14th.”