Before Thanksgiving break, men’s and women’s squash travelled down U.S. Route 7 to Williamstown, Mass. for a tournament at Williams College on Saturday, Nov. 21. The Panther men and women were in action against Cornell Saturday afternoon, and the men’s squad also took the court against Western Ontario in a pivotal match for year-end national tournament seeding.
For both the men and women, Cornell was going to be a tough match from the outset. The Cornell women entered the day ranked sixth in the country, while the Cornell men ranked 12th.
The women’s squad dropped all nine of their matches; although this seems like a tough way to start the season, the Panthers saw plenty of bright spots. Most notable was the play of two first-years, Bea Kuijpers ’19 and Alexa Comai ’19, who were second and fifth in Middlebury’s ladder.
Kuijpers gave Cornell junior Rachel Scherman a very good match, even taking the first game 14-12. While Kuijpers lost the next three sets — tallying six, four and five points respectively — she put up an impressive fight in her first collegiate match against a competitor ranked 28th in the nation.
Like Kuijpers in the second slot, Comai pushed Cornell sophomore Charlotte Knaggs to her limit in the fifth slot. Comai also won the first set of her collegiate career 14-12 before narrowly surrendering three games in a row. She dropped the second set and the decisive fourth set to Knaggs 11-6. The real turning point of the match was when Comai lost the third game 11-9, falling just short of a 2-1 lead that would’ve carried her into the fourth game.
“I felt strongest when I controlled the pace of the game and made [Knaggs] play my game instead of hers,” Comai said. “I thought the strongest part of my game was changing directions and moving her up and down the court ... to set up opportunities for ... attacking shots.”
Moving forward into their tough schedule to come, women’s squash knows they are still in a good position for success this season.
Senior co-Captain Tiffany Hau ’16, who held the fourth slot on the ladder against Cornell, explained that the team has “never been more fit,” which is very important in “such a physically demanding sport.”
“I think it’s great that we are able to play some of the stronger teams early on in the season because it prepares us for later on in the season when we play some of our closer rivals such as Bates and Williams,” Comai said.
The men’s squad did not fare much better than the Panther women against Cornell, with Wyatt French ’17 tallying the lone match victory for the Panthers. French clinched a win in four sets, winning three straight after dropping the first game 8-11. His three straight wins (11-6, 11-5 and 11-9) did not come easily, but French’s adjustment to a more patient pace allowed him a match victory against Cornell first-year Perry Hanson.
“In the first game against Hanson I played well but I made a couple of bad decisions going for kill shots at the wrong time and hitting the tin,” French said. “In the next couple of games I decided to be more patient and really wait until the perfect opportunity to attack. I was able to control the pace and retrieve most of his attacking shots and he started to get impatient and hit some tins.”
Regardless of Middlebury’s performance against Cornell, the men’s match against Western Ontario held the most importance in regards to post-season seeding. The Panthers rebounded from their 8-1 loss to the Big Red with an equally decisive 8-1 victory over the 19th-ranked Mustangs.
Once again, French led the way for the Panthers from the third slot on the ladder with a dominant three-set sweep (11-3, 11-4 and 11-6).
“Defensive game and movement were working well for me,” French said, reflecting on his first weekend of play at Williams. “Williams’ courts are hot and fast, which really helped me execute my defensive, up-tempo game.”
With solid performances from Henry Pearson ’17, Will Kurth ’18, Ben Krant ’17 and Sam Giddins ’18 on the bottom half of the ladder, French’s continued improvement would sure-up the top of the Panthers’ lineup as the season continues to heat up.
“My defensive game has always been my strength, and to have a more well rounded game I need to attack more,” French said.
Head Coach Mark Lewis has implemented specific exercises in practice to help French and his team strengthen their attacking game.
As a result of this training, French says he “will look to attack more and build confidence in [his] drops and volley drops” in the next few matches.
The Squash teams will head to Clinton, N.Y. to play at Hamilton College this Saturday, Dec. 5. Both squads face Hamilton at 2 p.m., and the men will play a second match against Hobart at 5 p.m.
