Late turnaround amends Jumbos' early woes

When the chips were down, the women's squash team kept its composure and put together two sets of back-to-back wins in the home stretch, invalidating early season losses.

Compiling a record an overall record of 7-13 on the year, Coach Doug Eng's squad secured the final national ranking of 21 at the Walker Cup portion of the Howe Cup, the women's National Championship for collegiate squash. At the Howe Cup, the team lost its first match 7-2, a rematch against William Smith, but won the next two en route to a 2-1 record on the weekend, capping their late season run.

Early in the season, the Jumbos faced a harsh schedule, pitting them against numerous legitimate Div. 1 athletic programs. The team surrendered four disheartening losses to top ten opponents including only two individual Jumbo victories. Amidst their early strife, a five game losing streak left Jumbos at a seemingly insurmountable 2-11 record and a mid-season ranking that dropped seven spots from last year to 25, leaving the Jumbos just out of the Walker Cup contention, reserved for teams ranked 17-24.

The last eight games of the season saw the Jumbos finally realize their potential, soundly defeating three higher ranked opponents. At the Mt. Holyoke Invitational, the Jumbos succumbed 4-5 close defeat to the hosts, but then responded with a 7-2 victory over William Smith, marking their second win in four contests.

"Our win against William Smith and near win against Mt. Holyoke were definite highlights," Eng said. "Over the season, I would say 90 percent of our success really showed up."

The team finally started to pick up the pace and their overall intensity improved as the wins started to come in, especially the weekend of the Mt. Holyoke Invitational.

"We realized we had the ability," sophomore Eliza Drachman-Jones said. "It was a definite upswing; it gave us a lot more confidence. When you start winning you want to keep winning."

And keep winning they did. Following the Invitational, their record was marred only by losses to Wellesley and William Smith, en route to more than tripling the team's win total in the last eight games of the season. Overmatched all early, the Jumbos enjoyed much more success against the likes of similarly ranked squads, including wins against William Smith, Haverford and Hamilton.

Setting the example for the younger players all season long, senior co-captain and Tufts' top player Winnie So paced the squad and sometimes took it on her shoulders, posting the only individual wins in two of the three 1-8 losses. She compiled eight straight wins to close the season and add in her run at the record of the most wins in overall squash competition. So has left her mark on the women's squash program as the number two all time on the women's squash win list, approaching the all-time lead for wins.

Her 45 wins approach the current record of 49. She is one of the best players in Tufts women's squash history and a bright spot of the season, Eng said.

So excelled her senior year with an individual record of 13-7, capped by a streak of 8 straight victories, as she played a huge part in the Jumbos' turnaround. So's leadership gave the team a huge boost down the home stretch, as her win streak coincided with the Jumbos' 5-3 turnaround, their best respect of the season. So relates her success to an ability to rise above even what she thought she could do.

"This season is by far my best," So said. "I felt I had reached a plateau last season. I don't know if it's my concentration."

Whatever it is, it certainly worked. So has qualified for the individual NCAA tournament where she will chase the all-time Tufts record for wins in women's squash. Although the seeding has not been posted, So is trying to break the record she said. She will have her last chance at the NSIRA and WISA Individual Singles Championships at Trinity this weekend.

The squad loses four seniors next year, but a good recruiting class should replenish the Jumbo lineup.

"We will lose our number one and two players," Eng said. "We are getting a group of freshman who should play the one, two and three spots. We'll look really good on paper."

The new freshmen should strengthen the team and increase the depth to the squad as the seniors will sorely be missed.

"The seniors won some crucial matches," Drachman-Jones said. "They were great teammates."