This weekend proved to be another difficult one for the women's squash team, as it lost a heartbreaker to William Smith, 5-4, before getting pummeled by Cornell, 9-0, at the Cornell Round Robin tournament on Saturday. The Jumbos have now dropped five of their last six matches, moving them to 7-13 on the season.
To compound that problem, the squad was short-handed and forced to play with only seven players.
"People were unable to make it this weekend due to personal commitments," sophomore Victoria Barba said.
"We had a pretty good weekend at Cornell despite being down two girls," senior co-captain Liz Thys added. "We are having some issues with attendance on the team, but we should have a full line up for Howe Cup next weekend."
The Jumbos met the home squad in a match Saturday afternoon where, despite solid efforts from the Jumbo women, Cornell won easily 9-0. Similar to last weekend, Barba and freshman Stefanie Marx put up the strongest fights, playing in the No. 2 and 3 spots, respectively. The duo scored six points each, the highest point total recorded by any member of the squad against her Big Red opponent.
Senior co-captain Julia Avrutin led the Jumbos again in the No. 1 spot. Avrutin had the tough task of playing with Cornell sophomore Maxi Prinsen, who finished last season with a No. 44 ranking from the College Squash Association. Prinsen was too much for Avrutin, however, as she fell in three games, 9-0, 9-1, 9-0.
Earlier on Saturday the Jumbos were on the losing end against William Smith, despite wins from the No.1 through No. 4 slots. Due to their shortened roster this weekend, the Jumbos lost the match, as they were forced to take losses by default in the No. 8 and 9 spots.
"Even with girls missing, we were still able to pull a 5-4 loss to William Smith, which meant that the majority of the girls we brought won their matches," Thys said. "Everyone played awesome. It was very close. If we see William Smith next weekend with a full line up, then we have a very good chance of beating them."
Avrutin led the Jumbos in the No. 1 spot, taking care of William Smith junior Lucy Ross in four games, 9-5, 9-5, 5-9, 9-5. Barba followed, cruising past her opponent in three games (9-1, 9-2, 9-3), while Marx defeated senior Helen Grassi in four games, 10-8, 6-9, 9-4, 9-2. Junior Micela Leis and sophomores Simone Grant and Maggie Jones lost to their opponents in the No. 5, 6, and 7 spots, respectively.
"The bottom of the ladder had tougher matches because they were playing so high up on the team," Barba said. "Plus, William Smith is pretty deep."
This week the Jumbos will work on fine-tuning their game before they square-off in the Howe Cup Tournament at Yale this weekend. Tonight, they will play Bates at Belmont Hill High School, their last competition before the tournament.
"This week, we are going to focus on playing smart meaning that we are working on good length contrasted with an aggressive short game," Thys said. "If everyone plays the way that they have for the last two weekends, then we will do great at Howe Cup." "We are going to continue to work on ending points," Barba said. "Additionally, improving our fitness and wearing out the other opponents before they can tire us out."
Tufts will be looking for revenge, after suffering a 9-0 loss against the Bobcats on Nov. 18.
"I look at Bates as being tough but beatable," Barba said. "I think if the team goes into it with the mindset of playing their hardest, we have a fighting chance."
"Bates will be a great match to warm up for Howe Cup," Thys added. "They are good and it will get us moving quickly and hitting hard. It is good to have a match like Bates before a big weekend."
