Injury shakes up women's squash lineup

The women's squash team was victorious in a pair of 7-2 victories over Connecticut College and Wesleyan on Saturday, despite being without the help of its number two player.

Freshman Erica Adler injured her knee in the first game of her match against Franklin and Marshall on January 31 at the Mount Holyoke College/Smith Invitational. Adler finished out the match, losing 7-9, 9-3, 9-4, 9-4 to bring her record to 2-2.

That will be her final mark, as she will miss the remainder of the season, which ends in two weeks at the Howe Cup at Yale.

Adler said that she is being treated for a sprained knee, and that she will need three to four weeks of therapy. Without Adler, the team has been forced to move all their players up a spot.

"The higher up you go, there are more players able to hit the ball in the back corner, so the deeper [on the court] you have to play and the more you have to adjust your game," junior Rhonda Barkan said.

Senior tri-captain Leigh Checchio was a near-automatic win at the three-spot, posting a 3-1 record with her lone loss to a Williams squad that overwhelmed the Jumbos 9-0. Since Adler's injury, Checcchio is 0-5 playing up at number two.

"Playing up at number two is definitely an intense challenge," Checchio admitted. "[Erica's injury] affects the dynamic of the team. But we're definitely still confident about our chances in matches. It's not a fatal blow to the team."

The Jumbos proved that statement true when, after stumbling with three consecutive losses to close out the MHC/Smith Invite, they righted the ship with a 2-0 record over this past weekend.

This was due in large part to the efforts of five through nine seeds junior Eliza Drachman-Jones, sophomore Zoe Bolesta, freshman Liz Thys, Barkan, and sophomore Joelle Polivy, who combined to go 10-0 against Conn. College and Wesleyan.

"Where you're at the bottom of the ladder, changing a spot doesn't matter as much," Barkan said. "At the top, the difference between, say two and three, is a lot more."

"We all love Erica; she's real fun and definitely adds a lot," Checchio said. "In terms of morale losing your number two player certainly doesn't help."