Women’s squash tears up NESCAC rivals

The Middlebury women’s squash team continued to perform at a high level last weekend, defeating Connecticut College, Amherst and Hamilton while improving to 9-1 on the season. After taking care of business against the Camels and Lord Jeffs in matches played at Amherst’s facility, the Panthers returned home to the friendly confines of the Bubble, where they won impressively in front of close to 100 supportive fans.
Travelling with the men’s team, the Panthers arrived in Amherst, Mass. on Friday night, in preparation for two afternoon matches the following day. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, the women took to the courts against Conn. College, making quick work of a weak squad not nearly up to the challenge of facing the 11th-ranked Panthers. Only Elena Laird ’11.5 dropped a game to the Camels. Laird, who plays in the number one position for Middlebury, played well nevertheless, and helped her team to secure a top-to-bottom, 9-0 victory for the women.
The Panthers anticipated and received a good deal more resistance against an Amherst team to whom they had lost at nationals last year.
“We knew that this was an important match in order to hold our place in the rankings after a tough loss to Amherst at nationals last year,” said co-captain Virginia Shannon ’11. “There were a few five-game matches and we had a crucial win from Lindsay [Becker ’13] in the middle of the line-up to secure our fifth match.”
Becker, who has been a steady contributor to the team since arriving at Middlebury in the fall of 2009, proved her mettle once again, delivering the decisive match against an Amherst team carrying a significant chip on its collective shoulder.
“After losing to them at nationals last year we wanted to come out and make a statement and I think we definitely did,” said Becker. “We wanted to show Amherst that we are a very strong team this year and this win goes a long way in doing that.”
The final score of 6-3 was probably closer than many of the women desired, but it reflected the type of decisive outcome the team ultimately sought. It is likely, however, that the Lord Jeffs will have an opportunity to avenge this loss, either at the NESCAC Championships in February or at CSA Nationals later that month.
On Sunday, the men’s and women’s teams both delivered 9-0 defeats to Hamilton College teams going through a seemingly interminable rebuilding process. The decisive margins reflect the improvement in the Middlebury squash program, overseen by fourth-year head coach, John Illig.
Also of note from the weekend at Amherst was the Lord Jeffs 6-3 victory over a formidable Bates College team. The victory should help Amherst leapfrog Bates in the rankings, further confounding the calculus of the prospective B Division at nationals. For now, however, a rematch with Amherst and seeding at nationals are two objects far from the Panthers’ minds.
“We feel really well prepared heading into next weekend’s matches against Bates and George Washington, and that’s where our focus is right now,” said Shannon.
While last weekend’s victories are certainly cause for pride among this Middlebury team, the road ahead does not get any easier for Illig’s 9-1 team.