Squash squashes Northeastern

Author: Matt Ferrer

The men's and women's squash teams took to the courts on Friday Nov. 30 for their first weekend of competition. Both teams opened against Northeastern and played Tufts on Saturday, and both returned home looking optimistically to the future.

For the men, Friday marked the first match ever in the history of varsity squash at Middlebury. Even with the pressure of wanting to start the program off on the right foot, the Panthers rose to the occasion and earned a dramatic come-from-behind win over the Huskies. With Middlebury and Northeastern tied after eight of the nine matches, Will Piekos '11 took to the court with the competition on the line. The steely first-year stayed calm and delivered the ninth win, securing the Middlebury victory. Playing in the number seven spot, Piekos won three of four games after dropping the first game in the best of five match.

The win was especially sweet because in the previous year, when the men were still only a club team, Northeastern beat Middlebury 5-4, in a match that also came down to the ninth and final game.

Head coach John Illig was thoroughly impressed with Piekos' performance with the match on the line.

"He played flawless squash and was perfectly cool under pressure," said Illig.

Equally as cool under pressure were J.P. Sardi '09, Brian Cady '11, Micah Wood '10 and Jack Lysohir '08.5, who all won their respective matches.

It was a day of firsts for the members of the men's team - not only were they playing their first varsity match and winning it, but first-years Cady and Piekos won their first matches, and Illig coached his team to what was likely the first of many victories.

But after the emotionally and physically draining victory, the men had to regroup quickly with three more matches on Saturday, and one on Sunday. The Panthers responded, going 3-1 the rest of the weekend.

According to Illig, "the rest of the weekend was routine" in comparison. Middlebury easily handled MIT, Boston College and the University of Vermont, beating each team by a score of 9-0. However, as quickly as the Panthers disposed of MIT, BC and UVM, their match against Tufts gave them a taste of their own medicine.

Playing in the number-three spot, Eliot Jia '10 earned the only Middlebury victory against an over-powering Tufts squad. Four of the eight Jumbo victories came by the dominating score of 3-0. Nevertheless, the weekend was a great success for the young Middlebury program and was a precursor of good things to come.

The women saw similar results in their first matches of the season. Facing a solid Northeastern team on Friday evening, the Middlebury women proved too much, winning in convincing 6-3 fashion. Led by number-one player Sally Hatfield '09, Brooke Beatt '10 playing in the number-five spot, and team newcomers Lee McKenna '10.5, Ashley Panichelli '10, Paige Patchin '11 and Abby Hoechsler '10.5, Middlebury took it to the Huskies.

Saturday was a different story, though, as the women's team fell to Tufts 8-1. Hatfield again showed that she could play with the best as she battled her way to a five-game victory.

The women's team is already looking forward to January and February, as it will welcome the return of Caroline Woodworth '09, who has been studying abroad, to help it through the meat of its schedule.

The next match for both squads will be against George Washington University in New Haven, Conn. at Yale's Brady Center on Jan. 11. The match will be the first of four over the course of the weekend for both the men and women.