The women's squash team made the trip out to Amherst on Thursday for its last match of the semester. The Jumbos sat at just below .500 and were coming off a 5-4 upset win over No. 18 William Smith. It was the last match of the season for their No. 1 player, junior Rebecca Rice, before leaving for a semester abroad.
Needless to say, the stakes were high. And the Jumbos came through with their biggest win of the season.
They took their momentum on the road to face the No. 19 Lord Jeffs. And with a 7-2 win, the Jumbos bucked an eight-year drought against their in-state archrival.
"Since we haven't beat Amherst in eight years, and we beat them 7-2 [this year], this was definitely a super-clutch win," Rice said. "Our coach [Doug Eng] said beating William Smith and Amherst were probably the best consecutive wins by the women's team in the past two decades."
The depth of this team was evident as slots five through nine swept their competitors in three games. Sophomore Jessica Hermann at the No. 6 slot was close to a perfect match in her 9-0, 9-2, 9-0 victory.
The most exciting and challenging battles were among the top four slots. Two matches went to five games, one went to four, and the Jumbos and Lord Jeffs split, each taking two wins to provide the final 7-2 margin.
Despite a slow start from the No. 4 spot, sophomore Stefanie Marx dominated in games two and three, 9-1, 9-2, then pulled out a dramatic two-point win in the fifth, posting a final score of 6-9, 9-1, 9-2, 1-9, 9-7.
"She's a very confident and solid player, which shows in her match results," Avrutin said. "This sets the tone for the other freshman."
Sophomore and No. 3 player Victoria Barba encountered some drama in the last match of the night. With a two-game lead and the third game tied at seven, Barba was just two points from taking the match. But a collision sent Amherst senior Abby Mantica for medical attention with a gashed chin. Mantica came back to the court and took the third game, 9-7. But Barba dominated in both quickness and depth and dealt Mantica her second blow of the day, this one in a 9-4, 9-6, 7-9, 9-3 decision.
The Lord Jeffs' strength was at their top two slots, where they posted two wins. Senior co-captain Jules Avrutin fell in a quick 9-4, 9-2, 9-0 trounce by Amherst senior Emily O'Brien.
The battle in the No. 1 slot was anything but dull as Rice took an early 2-1 lead (9-3, 2-9, 9-3). Unfortunately her bag of tricks - a variation of boasts and drives - fell short and she fell in five games to Amherst senior Caroline Shannon, 3-9, 9-2, 3-9, 9-5, 9-4.
According to Avrutin, the home courts played to the advantage of the two Lord Jeff seniors. She cited the high temperature inside the courts; in warmer environments, the ball takes different bounces and drop shots die more easily.
"On a different day, Rebecca and I could've pulled out a win, but the courts were really different and it made it difficult," Avrutin said.
This match against Amherst raised the Jumbos' record to 4-4 and concludes the first half of the season.
"Where we are right now is a big confidence booster," Eng said. "While two years ago we were much stronger, expectations were lower for us going from last year to where we are this year, but we realized we're a lot better than those expectations."
A long semester break awaits the team, which will take to the court again on Jan. 25, when it will face NESCAC rival Conn. College.
And it will be a colder winter break than the team is used to. While the Jumbos have spent the past two winter breaks training and bronzing in the Cayman Islands, new regulations instead send them back to Tufts a week early to train for their packed second half of the season.
Winter break serves as a second round of preseason training. Days are packed tightly and the week-long training will consist of daily off-court training with lifting and running, daily on-court practices at Northeastern's courts, and classroom video and match analysis.
"We will be working hard everyday," Avrutin said. "But it will be very good for team bonding and getting ourselves back into shape after possibly getting rusty and slow over the holiday break."
