Squash's hopes of playing in N.Y. squashed

Author: Simon Keyes

As far back as the records show, the Middlebury women's squash team has never had a match cancelled. This past Saturday, however, wintry conditions in upstate New York made road travel unsafe and halted the team bus before it could even depart from Adirondack Circle and motor towards Hamilton College. The team now has two weeks of preparation before they host Vassar in their first home match of the season this coming Sunday.

The news of a cancelled match was taken as both a blessing and a disappointment. "We didn't go to Hamilton Ö which was too bad because we were looking forward to a competitive match," said Co-Captain Kara Zarchin '06.5.

The match versus Hamilton certainly promised to be thrilling as the two teams are neck and neck in the College Squash Associations national rankings. Middlebury currently resides at 14th in the nation, while Hamilton lurks only one slot behind at 15th.

The cancellation, however, allowed the team some much-needed rest after a grueling yet successful tournament Jan. 13 and 14 in New Haven, Conn.

The Yale Invitational was a resounding success for the women's team as they finished the weekend 2-1. They beat the University of Virginia team, ranked 23rd, as well as 27th ranked Connecticut College. Their lone loss came at the hands of a very dangerous Bates team, currently ranked ninth in the nation.

Co-Captain Hannah Baker '07 was very proud of the team's performance at New Haven. "The team played really well and fought so hard at every level," she said. "And in our one loss, we played closer to Bates than we have in many years."

In Middlebury's first match against the University of Virginia, the fledgling UVA squash team did manage a little bit of a fight before Middlebury finished off the match at 8-1. In the most exciting match, Caroline Woodworth '09 used the full five games to defeat her opponent. After two heartbreaking games, she found herself down 0-2 before turning the tables on her opponent and grinding out an exhilarating 3-2 victory.

The victory over Conn. College proved just as easy, as Middlebury trounced the Camels 7-2. The match marked Middlebury's second victory over the Camels this season.

While the 7-2 loss in the Bates match surely was disappointing, there was nothing upsetting about the play of Baker and Sally Hatfield '09. Both beat their Bates opponents and finished the weekend with 3-0 records.

Baker's match versus Bates, however, was the main showcase. Baker finished last season ranked 70th in the country, only four seeds behind her opponent Kelsey Engman. The match promised to be exciting before the two women even stepped out onto the court.

Baker found herself down early as she was victimized by a ferocious Engman forehand. However, after two quick games, Baker made an adjustment and began hitting precise rails to the deep corners, and more importantly to Engman's backhand side. Even with the overall match out of reach, Baker put on a show for all the spectators by digging herself out of an 0-2 hole, and beating Engman to the tune of 3-9, 2-9, 9-6, 9-3 and 9-5.

Baker said, "Early on I was playing her game, and going for too many hard winners. I just started to play more consistently, and frustrated her by drawing on the points and the match longer."

After a tight third game, which went to Baker, the final two were relative cakewalks. The thrilling match concluded a stellar weekend for the team captain.