Women's squash down but not out

The women's squash team fell to Wesleyan for the second time this season 3-6, and to Mt. Holyoke 2-7 last weekend at the Amherst Invitational. Although their 2-8 record is far from par, the Jumbos, who are Div. I in squash, have encountered all top- notch opponents.

While the squad had few hopes of victory over the weekend, one of the few bright spots was an unexpected string of victories by upstart sophomore Eliza Drachman-Jones. Over the weekend she doubled her previous season win total of two. Drachman-Jones had lost her previous match against Wesleyan's Maya Roberts 3-0 in December, but similar to a big brother beating his younger brother in a game of basketball in the backyard, she was unknowingly trained by Roberts.

All the hard work Drachman-Jones put in to prepare for last weekend's match paid off as she defeated Roberts 3-2.

"Because I lost to Maya at the beginning of the season, I especially wanted to win this match," Drachman-Jones said. "I knew that it was going to be tough, but I was able to remember some of her weaknesses from the previous match, so I used that to my advantage."

Drachman-Jones showed strong determination in pulling out a comeback victory. The match started with Drachman-Jones splitting the first four games until she finally dispatched Roberts in the fifth game.

"I was down 4 or 5 points in three of the games, but I tried not to let that bother me," Drachman-Jones said. "Instead of getting frustrated when I lost a point, I focused on how I was going to win the next one."

"Eliza is very competitive in that she wants to win. You can tell that she wants it out there on the court. She sets a very good example to other players," senior co-captain Winnie So said.

Sophomore Nicole Arens, who plays the number three spot, and So at the number one spot accounted for the other Jumbo victories against Wesleyan.

Despite losing 2-7 to Mt. Holyoke, the team was happy with its performance.

"Yes, we played very well against Mt Holyoke, but with a full line-up we can beat them," coach Doug Eng said. "Are we satisfied? No. We need a full line-up and then let's see if we can win."

The team has enjoyed a recent surge from Drachman-Jones (six spot), senior Emma Fletcher (seven spot) and freshman Sarah Lucas (eight spot). Their combined record over the weekend was 3-3, accounting for three out of the five individual wins.

"Our numbers seven through nine are fairly inexperienced but it turns out some teams are less experienced," Eng said. "At full strength, we'd like to be competitive at every position."

Although she lost both of her matches, senior Emma Fletcher sent both to five games.

"Emma is a fighter who may be half-down but doesn't know when to stop," Eng said. "That's exactly what you want from your athletes."

Fletcher's play over the last few matches has provided a definite boost for the team.

"Emma played extremely well and was determined not to give up," Drachman-Jones said. "As the underdog in both of our matches, it was great to see such determination."