Women protect their home courts Saints march by men in their first-ever varsity home match

Author: Peter Baumann

Middlebury's varsity squash players have plenty of complaints about playing in the Bubble, most having to do with the frigid conditions and slow game-play that the courts create. But for at least one day, the Panthers were glad to be home. On Monday, Jan. 14, in their only home matches of the year, the Middlebury squash teams started off identical, successful weeks in front of a large and energetic home crowd.

Playing against St. Lawrence, the women's team was able to ride their home-court advantage to an easy 8-1 victory. According to co-captain Brooke Farquhar '08.5, the fans provided the necessary boost.

"Coming off a tough weekend of matches down at Yale, our fans gave us the energy we needed to defeat St. Lawrence on Monday," she said. "It's tough having only one home match a season, and we are so appreciative of all the fans that came down."

The women rode this wave of momentum back down to Yale. They went 2-2 on the weekend, finishing a difficult week with an impressive 3-2 record.

Unfortunately, the team's two losses came to NESCAC foes Bates and Bowdoin by scores of 9-0 and 8-1 respectively. Despite the seemingly lopsided nature of the matches, Farquhar was quick to note that the contests were closer than the final results might indicate.

"The scores don't reflect the effort," she said. "A lot of the points in these matches went on for a while. We can stay in points with Bates and Bowdoin. Next time we just need to take them."

One player who took plenty of points over the course of the weekend was Olivia Kerr '08.5. Playing at number nine for the first three contests, Kerr was 2-1, including a five-game victory to earn Middlebury's sole point against Bowdoin.

But Kerr's best outing came in Middlebury's 6-3 defeat of Connecticut College. Because of a prior commitment from another player, Kerr was forced to move up and play at number eight on the ladder, where, after losing the first game, she ran off three consecutive 9-5 victories to emerge with a 3-1 win.

"Kerr's determination and focus is really inspiring," said Farquhar. "It's really hard to stay mentally steady in five-game matches, and she did this twice over the weekend."

For the men, Monday's match against St. Lawrence served as the first home match for the newly anointed varsity program. While the result, a 6-3 loss, was not what the team had hoped for, the Panthers quickly regrouped to go 3-1 during their weekend road trip to Yale, including posting victories against Connecticut College and Colby.

"The matches this weekend were really groundbreaking for Middlebury squash in that we posted some strong results and victories against teams that we have historically always lost to," said co-captain Will Carroll '07.5

Like the women, the men reaped the benefits of their impressive depth, with Will Piekos '11 posting a perfect 4-0 record while playing in the number 9 slot on the ladder. He and Micah Wood '10 have been picking up points all season long from the eight and nine spots and have played a large role in the team's 8-5 record.

While the Panthers will not be returning to the Bubble for any more matches this season, they next take the court on Saturday, Jan. 26 against Williams, traditionally one of the better teams in the NESCAC, in matches that should serve as great barometers for the teams' early successes.