Inspired Play Fuels Squash Team’s Success

The first few weeks of the New Year have been busy for the men’s and women’s squash teams, as both played over half of their schedules in nine days from Jan. 8 through Jan. 17. The trip to Maine before the end of winter break and a pair of 8-1 wins over Amherst this past Tuesday, Jan. 12 were highlights for both teams. Last Saturday’s matchups with Brown were nail-biters for both teams. The 16th-ranked men’s squad defeated 15th-ranked Brown 5-4, and the 14th-ranked women’s squad fell 6-3 to a strong 11th-ranked Brown team.

The men’s 5-4 triumph over Brown on Saturday will likely see them move into the 15th spot in the CSA standings. At the beginning of the year, one of the team goals was to finish in the second division after winning five of the last eight Summers’ Cups awarded to the top finisher in the third division. The team needs to be ranked 16th or higher to qualify for the second division.

David Cromwell ’16 and Wyatt French ’17 continued their strong seasons in the Panthers’ victory over the Bears, but Will Kurth ’18’s gutsy victory over Charlie Blasberg was the difference maker in the 5-4 victory.
Kurth jumped on Blasberg in the first game, outpacing his opponent and forcing Blasberg to run up and down the court. Kurth extended several rallies and hit high quality low shots right above the tin that kept Blasberg on his toes. Although Kurth still looked like the stronger of the two, Blasberg won the second game as unforced errors cost Kurth. Kurth was not far off though, as a few of his errors came within an eyelash of missing the tin.

Kurth gave the crowd their money’s worth in games three and four, winning both 12-10. Kurth won the deciding fourth game by scoring on a shot he beautifully hit to the back of the right wall, just out of Blasberg’s reach, forcing a bad return which earned Kurth the victory.

“I definitely didn’t want to have to go to a fifth game,” said an exhausted Kurth. “I tried to control the pace and be speedy to wear him down. Both of us were exhausted.”

Kurth described his strategy, “like a game of chess.” He said that in the final two games, he felt he was getting to the ball and hitting it to the right place at the right pace. “It was frustrating because he was getting to all of my shots. In the end I decided there was no reason not to go for it. After a while, when I had the chance, I mixed it up and slid in some no look shots to throw him off.”

In the second slot on the ladder, Cromwell was able to finish off his opponent in four games.

“I concentrated on hitting better quality shots than him,” Cromwell after the match said.

In the deciding fourth game, Cromwell won the first point with a brilliant shot that caromed at the base of the back wall just under the racquet of his opponent. After a serve from the left box that was hit above the boundary line, Cromwell showed no signs of letting the rare mistake affect his focus. On the subsequent rally, Cromwell and his opponent exchanged shots on the left wall until Cromwell forced him to the back so he could deliver a perfect low shot to the front left corner. Similar to what Kurth said about his Brown performance, Cromwell won the point like it was a game of chess against an outmatched opponent.

Over the course of the match, Cromwell seemed to know what his opponent was going to do next. When asked if the two had played each other in the past, Cromwell at first said no. Then he remembered, “Well, I played him once at a squash camp a long time ago. He was way better than me then.”

Coach Mark Lewis described the effort Cromwell has put in since the end of last season as “inspiring.” “He really puts in the work. He wants it. If there is something that needs to be fixed, or if we want him to address a specific part of his game, he works tirelessly on it,” Lewis said. Cromwell played most of last season in the eighth slot, but his efforts have precipitated his rise to the second spot on the ladder where he has won six of 11 matches this season.

Although the women’s team did not earn a victory, Lewis said, “I have no problem with us walking away today 1-1,” as both of Brown’s teams are among the country’s best. Despite losing 6-3, the women’s team played Brown closely. They were also without Lucy Bostwick ’18, who has emerged as one of the most dependable players on the team, and a key to the Panthers’ success at the bottom of the ladder.

Alexa Comai ’19 continued her tremendous first-year campaign, collecting a five game win for the Panthers. Down 10-6 in the second game, Comai was in danger of falling down two games to zero for the first time all season after losing the first game 11-9. Yet Comai did not give in and registered six straight points to the second game 12-10 to the tune of loud cheers from the crowd. By the time she pushed the match to a fifth game, Comai knew she had her opponent where she wanted.

“We were fairly evenly matched, but she was more tired than I was going into that last game,” Comai said. Comai moved her opponent around the court, mixing in more and more boasts as the rubber-match went on.
“I decided that it was best to attack and that’s why you saw me boast more to get her out of position,” Comai said. “I tried to play with more tempo hoping she would have a harder time keeping up.”

Comai won the decisive fifth game 11-8, tallying the first win of the day for the women’s squad.
Over the course of the nine day grind, the only losses the men suffered came against sixth-ranked St. Lawrence (9-0) and tenth-ranked Franklin and Marshall (6-3). Their wins over Bates, the higher ranked of the two when the Panthers travelled to Lewiston, and their win over Brown put them in a good position to try and clinch a berth in the second division.

The women’s team, however, lost Sunday, Jan. 17, the last of the matches for the nine day whirlwind, to a lower ranked opponent for the first time all season. Ranked 15th, one spot below Middlebury, Franklin and Marshall was able to knock off the Panthers last Sunday 7-2. Although the Panthers remained without Bostwick and are still trying to deal with lingering injuries, they will likely move down to 15th when the next set of rankings comes out.

“Keeping people healthy for the final stretch run and heading into national’s remains a top priority,” said Lewis after the Brown match. “I need to push them in the right ways so that they improve and keep up our fitness, but also avoid injuries. If I can do that and if they can stay mentally focused, we still have our best squash ahead of us.”

Both teams are in action this Saturday, Jan. 23 in Williamstown, Mass. where they will take on Williams at 2 p.m.