Women's squash moves up to 12th

Author: Michael McCormick

The women's squash team started 2006 with two impressive wins at the Amherst Invitational on Jan. 14 in their first matches since early December. Ranked 16th in the nation at the time, the Panthers were the underdogs as they took on 11th-ranked Amherst. The team fought its way through the Jeffs, winning the match 5-4. It was the first time that Middlebury women's squash had ever beaten Amherst, and the team was understandably excited about this win.

"The Amherst win was pretty huge," said Kara Zarchin '06. "It was the first time that we've beaten them in the history of women's squash." The Panthers got wins from Zarchin, Caitlin Flint '06, Liz Parker '07, Brooke Farquhar '08, and Avery Tilney '09 to put Amherst away. Tilney and Farquhar won in straight sets, while Parker won in four sets and Zarchin and Flint won in five sets. Katie Hawkins '06 also took her match to five sets, but was unable to win in the end.

Parker, along with Hannah Baker '07, recently returned to the squash lineup after being abroad for first semester. Their presence should help the team as the women move towards the NESCAC tournament and nationals. "Having them [Parker and Baker] back on the ladder was really nice," said Zarchin.

After pulling the upset over Amherst, the Panthers steamrolled Wesleyan, with Middlebury winning all nine of the matches. Zarchin, Flint, Parker, Farquhar, Tilney, Baker, Hawkins, Sally Hatfield '09 and Caroline Woodworth '09 all had wins against the Cardinals.

The Panthers are focused on winning as many of their remaining matches as they can to keep moving up in the squash rankings. After the big wins against Amherst and Wesleyan, the Panthers are currently ranked 12th in the nation. If they maintain their current ranking, they will be placed into the B flight at the Howe Cup at Harvard in February. The Howe cup is the biggest tournament of the year for the Panthers and the most prestigious trophy in women's collegiate squash. "We want to be in the B division at the Howe Cup and we're ranked there now," said Zarchin. "We've been in the C class the last few years." In the B flight, the Panthers would play teams like Conneticut College, Cornell, Bates, Amherst and Bowdoin.

The Panthers travelled to Vassar on Wednesday to square off against the Brewers. This weekend, they will travel to Smith College and play in the Smith/Mt. Holyoke Invitational, which is the Panthers' last tournament of the year before the NESCAC tournament and the Howe Cup. With their sights set on the B Flight of the Howe Cup one can bet that the Panthers will undoubtedly be bringing their "A" game.