Men’s Squash Records First-Ever Win Against Williams in Program History

Last Saturday, Jan. 23 marked a historic day for the men’s squash team: their first-ever match victory against Williams, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, no less. The men’s team won 7-2, while the women’s side fell 7-2 for their third-straight loss.

This team-first for the men’s side came just a week after both the Williams and Panther men lost 6-3 to 10th-ranked Franklin and Marshall. With a loss to a common opponent, the Panthers’ win over the Ephs gives them an edge over Williams as the season inches closer to the release date of the final regular season rankings after the NESCAC Championships Feb. 5-7, which will be held in Hartford.

A win for the 15th-ranked Panther men over a Navy team only one spot ahead of them would give the Panthers more cushion entering the NESCACs in their quest to qualify for the second division.

It the third trip for both teams down U.S. Route 7 toward Williamstown this season, but the first time they played the Ephs. Their two previous were for the Williams Round Robin tournament and the match against Franklin and Marshall.

Given both the men’s and women’s teams are rounding out their schedules with top-line opponents, Coach Mark Lewis said that he is looking to prepare his players for the NESCAC Championships.
“How do I define success [for the men as they round out their schedule] against [Williams and Navy]? It’s by winning them, simple. And how we get ready for the NESCACs is what matters,” Lewis said Friday afternoon at practice as his team prepared to leave for Williamstown early Saturday.

Senior David Cromwell ’16 and junior Wyatt French ’17 continued their impressive seasons with straight-set victories in the second and third places on the ladder, respectively. Will Kurth ’18 and Robert Rohrbach ’19 also won in straight sets at the bottom of the ladder for the Panthers. Andrew Cadienhead ’17 bounced back from a tough five-set loss against Brown two weeks ago with a four-set victory in the fourth slot.

Cromwell’s continued success remains the story of the season for the Panthers. To put it in perspective, just 11 months ago he lost a five-set match against Williams from the sixth slot at last season’s NESCAC tournament. Now Cromwell won in straight sets in the second slot against Williams’ top first-year and  prized offseason recruit.
“It means a whole lot,” Cromwell said of finally beating the Ephs. “Williams has been on our radar since the days of the bubble. To finally eclipse them with such a strong performance up and down the ladder was very satisfying.”

“I knew heading into my match that I had an opportunity to seal the deal because three, six and nine swept the first matches and Kurth is pretty much a guaranteed win at eight,” Cromwell said. “I really wanted to finish it off for the guys.  You always want to be in that kind of position for your team.”
Winning the decisive match against the Ephs earned Cromwell NESCAC player of the week. While he acknowledged that his hard work has paid off, Cromwell said the highlight of this season is the team’s overall success.

“My favorite part about this year is our cohesion as a team," Cromwell said. “We are tough, battle tested, and believe in each other. I certainly wouldnt want to play us.”
The third straight loss for the women’s side comes on the heels of their dropping a spot in the rankings after a loss to Franklin and Marshall, with whom they swapped the 14th and 15th spot in the rankings. Although they dropped to 15th and lost to Williams, the Panther women appear safely in position to qualify for the second division again this year because they already have a dominant 8-1 victory over 16th-ranked Amherst.

The bright spots for the women’s squad were first-year Alexa Comai ’19 and senior Zoe Carey ’16. Comai came away with a closely contested straight-set victory, while Carey traded 11-9 games with her opponent before clinching the match in the fourth game, 11-3.
Comai pulled through when it mattered most Saturday, winning in straight sets. After Comai won the first two sets 14-12, she was able to outlast her opponent from Williams in an 11-9 nail biter in the decisive game three.

“I had success when I stepped up and volleyed more than her and tried to control the T,” Comai said. “When I was in front of her and was able to dominate the play I kept her in the back of the court and was able to attack more.”
A recurring theme that both teams have attributed to their success throughout the year, fitness, was once again in play for Comai against Williams.

“Going into the third game [after back-to-back 14-12 sets] all I was thinking was that I was exhausted and really did not want to have to play another game, so I wanted to give that game everything I had,” Comai said.
Carey attributed her success to the mental side of the game.

“As the season has progressed, I find that if I go into a match confident that I am going to win, I often do,” Carey said. “I try not to let the opponent get in my head, and I trust that my skills and mental ability will get me through the match.

“In the last game, my opponent clearly lost her momentum,” Carey continued. “She seemed exhausted from the previous games, and I used that to my advantage.”
One of three seniors on the women’s roster, Carey has experience with the grind that comes with the end of a squash season. Especially this year, as the injuries have piled up for the women’s side, Carey says that the team is not fading.

“Physically, our team is tough,” said Carey, despite injuries and fatigue the team has dealt with since returning to action earlier this month. “I believe that our physical fitness is as strong as ever. We had a period of time a few weeks ago when we played [seven matches in nine days].” Carey says that she knows the team is physically ready for the upcoming Yale Round Robin and the NESCACs.

Carey added, “I don’t think our team is worn out and has hit a wall. I have been so impressed by the way my team has been playing, and a few losses doesn’t change that. Although the scores may not show it, our matches with Williams and F&M were close, and I believe that we have the ability to beat both those teams. Going into the next few weeks, I think we will prepare by making sure that every injured player do whatever she needs to feel healthy and at her best again before going into NESCACs and Nationals.”

With the women matching up against 11th-ranked Williams last Saturday, and 10th-ranked Dartmouth and fourth-ranked Yale this Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Yale Round Robin, Lewis said that the team can gauge where they heading into NESCACs.

“I am not defining the success [for the women’s team] based on the wins and losses,”  said Lewis, who acknowledged that Dartmouth and Yale, especially, are stretches. “I think of those matches as tests, to see how we are doing physically and see how our bodies are holding up the week before the NESCAC Championships.”

Going into the stretch run, Lewis said mental preparation will go a long way to determining the Panthers’ success.  “How do you prepare for a team you know is strong especially at the top and you know you had a close match? I think getting them mentally ready. Either through conversations or through mental sessions,” Lewis said.
“I act as more of just a reminder.  Just [saying to his players] ‘hey guys remember when you did this or you did that really well?’ And that worked out really well.’ It doesn’t have to be really complicated,” Lewis said about game planning and tactics. “The game is much too fluid or too fast to do that.  But if they had a feeling like, ‘Ah, when I played Bates the last time earlier this year and I played well,’ what does that mean?” is what Lewis believes the players should be reflecting on before NESCACs when they will match up with opponents they have already played this year.

Lewis continued, “It’s about each of them realizing that ‘I played well because I volleyed a lot. [Or] I played well because I hit the back to corners a real lot.’ Those are two things that are really important in any match. If they are reminded of those things, specific things that they can do, that they have confidence in, I’m pretty confident in them.”

The Panthers round out regular season play this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30, at the Yale Round Robin in New Haven.  The men’s squad plays its final match of the regular season Friday evening at 5 p.m. when they take on Navy.  The women’s squad will play two matches at the round robin Saturday afternoon against Yale at noon and Dartmouth at 3 p.m.