Women's squash gets rude awakening from Brown

Last Sunday the women's squash team lost to seventh ranked Brown 9-0 at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. The loss was the Jumbos' fourth straight, and dropped the team to 2-9 on the season. Losing all of their matches 3-0, the outgunned Jumbos were trounced in their second pass at a top-ten team this season.

"Brown was a lot better than us," senior co-captain Winnie So said.

Because of its repeated difficulties against Ivy League opponents, the Tufts squad knew defeating Brown would be a difficult task to achieve. With the absence of critical contributors such as sophomore Nida Ghouse (four spot) and freshman Joelle Polivy (seven spot) due to family obligations, the shorthanded squad filled the void with two players from its inexperienced bench.

"They are a genuine Div I team," coach Doug Eng said. "There is a huge gap between us and Brown. Brown was not as deep last year. Their freshman class was great. [Brown's] coach told me he was surprised at his team's depth. It's their deepest team in years."

While Tufts is a good program, it is difficult to match-up with a team that boasts multiple stars.

"Most of their players are All-Americans," So said. "They have been training since they were little."

Annually a formidable opponent, Brown has compiled a 5-3 record against tough competition _ six of the team's eight opponents were ranked 12th or better. Eng advised his players to perform within themselves.

"I was very low-key," Eng said. "I told them to play shots they were capable of. I focused on the things we can do_fight hard and have fun."

Despite the disparity in individual match scores, the Jumbos forced Brown to work for each point.

"Winnie played well against her opponent," senior co-captain Abi Cushman said. "She was definitely in every point, and they had long rallies."

Tufts must rebound from this loss very quickly to secure a spot in the C Division consisting of the teams nationally ranked from 17-24. If the season ended today, the 25th ranked Tufts team would fall to the top spot in the D Division.

"I think only once we were in the D Division," Eng said. "We have to win at least two of our upcoming matches to get back into the C Division. We have to believe we have a chance to get into the final of Division C and we don't want to be the last seed of division C."

The team does not only want to be a member of the C division for reasons of pride, it also yearns for decent competition.

"The Division D teams we should beat really easily," sophomore Nida Ghouse said. "We can make it. We hope to have a good shot at it [Division C]."

The team still hopes to salvage its recent disheartening stretch of the season and surprise some higher ranked opponents. In their upcoming match against Mt. Holyoke this weekend, the Jumbos hope to avenge the 2-7 loss that propelled the Lyons ahead of them in the national rankings.

"The match against Mt. Holyoke was really close even in the loss," Ghouse said. "We really want to get that one."

Even without assurance of a full lineup again this weekend, the team aspires to upgrade its ranking and improve upon its 2-9 record.

"We're going to start beating several teams," Eng said. "This weekend's teams are within reach."

At the Howe Cup _ the National Championship in squash _ to be held the weekend of February 14-16, the squad has a chance to repudiate its lowered ranking. The Jumbos were originally ranked 18th at preseason, but dropped to 25th in the Dec 5 poll.

"We can't concentrate on the ranking," Eng said. "It's not indicative of how we're playing. We're playing for ourselves, and we're going to be good at the Howe Cup though it was a rocky road getting there."