Women's Squash enters new semester looking to improve

As the fall semester came to a close, the women's squash team headed into the winter break with a weekend split. It defeated Smith 9-0 but then followed up with a 7-2 loss to Wesleyan.

Senior and first year starter Emma Fletcher provided the highlight of the Jumbos victory against Smith. Fletcher mustered an improbable comeback to defeat the number seven player on a tough Wesleyan squad this year. After playing in the number nine spot for most of the year, sitting out during three of the eight matches, Fletcher emerged with a stunning victory and an individual sweep of the Wesleyan Invitational. She and senior co-captain Winnie So both won their matches in Tufts' victory over Smith.

Emma Fletcher's performance stands out as the biggest surprise of the Wesleyan Invitational despite losing the first two games of her match, 8-10 and 3-9. Fletcher roared back with three close victories to stun Mary Livingston of Wesleyan. Although the team lacked consistency, Fletcher's performance and heart provided a bright spot in the match.

"They played well and we didn't play too well besides being short-handed. Emma had to play up and played awesome. This is really her first year playing in the starting varsity line-up," Eng said.

By winning her match, Fletcher provided her team with a momentum that led the Jumbos to a sweep of Smith in one of the semester's final matches. During its previous match-ups, the team suffered tough losses to Amherst and Wellesley due to a shortage of players at each event. Although, the squad bounced back quite nicely with a full squad against a weaker Smith College team, Tufts was unable to overcome a very strong Wesleyan squad.

"Wellesley is tough this year and last year as well. We had beaten them about 13 times in a row, so maybe they are due for a couple wins," Eng said.

Against both Wesleyan and Smith, the Jumbos were once again forced to shuffle their lineup, as co-captain Abi Cushman could not play in this match. Sophomore Nicole Arens was moved up in place of Cushman. Arens, with junior A.J. Crane, played long, well-fought matches and pulled out a win in one of the four games.

Captain Winnie So added a great performance against Wesleyan to her list of victories as well. She continues to show her experience and talent taking the lone victory earlier in the season against Bates and one of the two victories at Wesleyan.

"Winnie has played well and always did. She wins most of her matches at #1," Eng said.

Another teammate, sophomore Nicole Arens echoes Eng's praise.

"Winnie does do a very good job at the #1 position. She has lots of experience and talent," sophomore Nicole Arens said.

So is the best example of the talent displayed by this squash team.

"The women's squash team does not lack talent, ability, or spirit. It does, however, lack experience," Arens said. "Many of our players are new to the game and don't yet understand all the idiosyncrasies and ways to pull out close matches. A lot of the game is mental, and that is gained through experience."

Although the team has lost a few games this year, they have set their sights on very attainable goals. The team has faced adversity, playing without key players and losing senior co-captain Eileen Connors to personal obligations. To prepare for the upcoming week, including the always-formidable opponents Brown and Wellesley, the team sets reasonable goals.

"We focus mostly on certain goals that we can handle within ourselves. The only other addition is reminding the team that even if the other team has world-class players, they are still students," Eng said.