First round loss ousts Jumbos from Walker Cup

The women's squash team took on a familiar nemesis _ an ailing lineup _ this weekend as the curtain fell on its regular season.

On the heels of back-to-back wins with a full squad, the fourth seeded Jumbos streaked into the Walker Cup, the national championship for teams ranked 17-24 in the country, only to have their run halted by a 7-2 upset by William Smith on Friday at Yale University. After the initial loss, however, the team managed to rebound with two more wins in the losers' bracket of the tournament.

The Jumbos quickly regrouped after Friday's setback against William Smith, defeating Haverford on Saturday 5-4 and Hamilton on Sunday by the same score to close out the season. Earlier in the week, Tufts fell to the would-be number one seed in the Walker Cup, Wellesley 8-1. With a 2-1 overall record in the tournament, the Jumbos rebounded from the disappointing loss and claimed the 21st spot nationally, with a final record of 7-13.

The absence of number five player Zoe Bolesta coupled with senior co-captain and number two player Abi Cushman's illness enfeebled the Jumbos lineup.

"I was sick," Cushman said. "I was really tired and I wasn't running very well at all. These are things you can't have in squash."

The results attest to Cushman's struggles. She only managed to win a single game, dropping all three of the matches she played at the Walker Cup. The Jumbos had seven of their top nine players at full strength in the match, which paved the way for the William Smith's 7-2 first round upset.

Despite the early setback, the weekend's matches exemplified some of the Jumbos' most electrifying squash of the year. In the team's final match of the season on Sunday, the Jumbos managed a 5-4 win against Hamilton. Junior A.J. Crane overcame 2-9 and 1-9 losses in the third and fourth games, pushing her match to the five game limit.

"At the time we were down 4-3 as a team," Eng said. "And then she was down 6-1 in the fifth game. It was a great comeback."

Crane's miraculous about-face evened the match and turned the tide, paving the way for the Jumbo victory. Senior co-captain Winnie So continued her stellar play at the number one spot in her last matches at Tufts. She went undefeated at the Walker Cup, extending her streak to eight straight singles victories.

In the deciding match against Haverford on Saturday, sophomore Nida Ghouse's 3-1 win at the fourth spot sent the Jumbos into the finals of the losers' bracket.

"Nida's was the critical match," Eng said. "She had very tight balls. She was the hero of the second day."

After losing to Haverford's Katie Crozier two weeks prior, Ghouse changed her style.

"I was pretty tense in matches all season," Ghouse said. "I just concentrated on loosening up. I had a marked difference in play in practices and in the matches. Not thinking was what I was trying to do."

The changes proved effective as Ghouse emerged victorious. Her performance spurred the team in a match that was closer than expected.

"We expected to beat Haverford," Cushman said. "But, they'd gotten a lot better."

After their climactic 8-1 win over the ailing William Smith team that was short two key players on Feb. 2, the tables turned on the Jumbos and their incomplete lineup as they fell in the rematch, 7-2.

Although disappointed with the loss, the Jumbos responded quickly with two close victories. Rallying his troops after the initial disappointment, Eng put the match into perspective.

"We just got to move on," Eng said. "Play one match at a time. That one is over."

Despite the tough end to the team's Walker Cup hopes, the Jumbos recovered and put together some of the season's best squash in the final few matches.

"Some played well and some didn't," Eng said. "In the matches against Hamilton and Haverford, we played some of the best squash of the year."

Late-season performances put in by So and others provided the spark that ignited the Jumbos turnaround, reversing a dismal 2-11 start to the season, with a 5-3 record down the home stretch.

"We do what we can do," Eng said. "We played really well against Hamilton and Haverford. I couldn't be happier with the performances."