The men's and women's squash teams both fared well last weekend in their respective tournaments. The women took on both St. Lawrence and Mt. Holyoke at the Amherst Invitational and split their matches, while the men's squad went 2-1 on the weekend against Stanford, Navy, and Rochester at the Yale Invitational.
On the women's side, the Jumbos struggled against St. Lawrence, falling 6-3, but cruised past Mt. Holyoke, winning 8-1. Although the team acknowledged St. Lawrence's strong effort, the jumbos maintained that they could have won the match.
"Next time I think we win that one," senior co-captain Justine Kurland said. "They were just a little bit stronger than us." The squad fared better against Mt. Holyoke. "They were a weaker team," Kurland said. "We all played really well."
The match was a milestone for freshman Nicole Arens, who won the first match of her career. "It's the best I've played all year," Arens said.
But the biggest story of the weekend was the return of junior Winnie So, who did not participate in the early part of the season for unspecified reasons. So, who stepped climbed back to the top of the lineup, played her first two matches this weekend.
"I'm very happy," Arens said of So's return. "I am now in a spot (in the lineup) where I am more capable of playing."
With So now occupying the top spot, everyone else in the lineup has moved down a slot. This places former number-one Anne Montesano at number two, and enables Arens to step down in the third slot. So brings experience to the team, playing in her sixth year of competitive squash.
"I hope I am able to coach the team a little bit," So said.
Though she was unable to secure a victory in her first two matches, So is confident her return will help to spark the club. "I think we have more depth," she said. "The top four can be strong."
Coach Doug Eng is also confident that the return of So will prove to be beneficial. "It really helps a lot," he said. "It puts everyone in position where they can win their matches more easily."
The team currently holds a 2-6 record but has not lost its optimism and is looking to build on its impressive victory over Mt. Holyoke.
"I think we should use this as a turning point for our season." Arens said.
The women are back in action again today, taking on Wellesley at home.
In New Haven, the men's team continued its strong season, improving to a solid 6-4 record, with its two victories. The squad defeated Stanford in a nail-biter to begin the weekend, but was beaten handily by a strong Navy squad. The Jumbos rebounded nicely, though, with a win against Rochester.
Upon the conclusion of seven matches against Stanford, Tufts trailed 4-3. Senior tri-captain Colin O'Higgins, the number-three player, took care of Stanford's Sam Gellman in four games, in a pivotal match to tie the score at four. Another Jumbo senior tri-captain, Neil Pallaver, found himself down 7-1 in the fourth game, but was able to knock off six straight points to secure the victory.
"It was a matter of not losing his cool," Eng said. "It was ultimately the deciding match."
The men struggled mightily as they were shut out 9-0 by a tough Navy Team. "They are very fit, they have very good depth, and they hit hard," Eng said. "It was a tough match."
Adding to the Jumbos difficulties was the time of the match. "It was a really early morning match at 8 a.m.," junior Chris Choi said. "It was kind of rough."
The Jumbos' third match of the weekend proved to be another nail-biter against Rochester. Junior Nathan Anderson won the final match of the day to give the Jumbos the 5-4 victory. Despite the victory, Tufts players felt that they played better than the score suggests.
"I don't think the scores demonstrate how good we are," Anderson said. "We could have beaten them more easily."
Eng appears satisfied with the victories over the weekend but feels the team needs to continue its upward climb.
"We need to work on conditioning," Eng said. "We really have a lot of talent. We have a tough lineup and we should win at the bottom."
Eng noted the subpar 3-6 record at the number eight and nine spot.
"We should be flying at those positions," he said.
Last year the team won 65 percent of its matches at the seven, eight, and nine positions. However, Eng feels the team will continue to improve. "They will rise up to the Challenge," he said. The Jumbos next contest will be at Bowdoin on Sunday.
