Having scored 9-0 victories over all its NESCAC opponents this season, defending champion Trinity takes home court advantage in this weekend's women's squash NESCAC Tournament.
The championship bracket of the tournament will take place at No. 1 Trinity and the loser's bracket will be completed at No. 10 Wesleyan. The top five teams - Trinity, Williams, Bates, Colby and Hamilton - received a bye from Friday evening's first round to compete in the quarterfinals.
The nationally-ranked No. 4 Bantams are coming off a stellar 7-2 victory over No. 2 UPenn on Jan. 26. To warm up for the championship tournament, Trinity has a home match scheduled against longtime powerhouse No. 6 Stanford.
Few people think the Bantams will have trouble repeating as conference champions.
"It's just like a joke," Tufts assistant coach Kelsey Engman said. "If you make it to the finals you're not even close because they're just so strong. They have a lot of international players, generally giving those who can't get into the Ivies an opportunity."
The toughest fights in the championship bracket will be for second and third place. Williams (6-8) holds a 4-1 NESCAC record, with high scoring wins overall except a 0-9 setback to Trinity. Trailing behind is Bates with a 2-2 NESCAC record and a comparably difficult non-league schedule.
And then there's Colby at the No. 4 spot. While the Mules have had painful losses against Trinity, Williams and Bates, they are currently on a five-game winning streak after taking five of their six matches last weekend.
Tufts' (7-3) loss to No. 5 Hamilton (10-4) last weekend caused them to fall just short of a No. 5 ranking and first round bye. Fortunately, the Jumbos' first match is against No. 11 Connecticut College (4-12), who they defeated, 6-3, in their first match of the season, proving their depth by sweeping matches 4 through 9 in three games. Tufts is 4-2 in NESCAC play, while Conn. College is 1-6.
If the Jumbos come out on top, they will take the court on Saturday afternoon against No. 3 Bates, which faced a very strong non-league schedule, battling nationally-ranked teams such as No. 4 Yale, No. 6 Stanford and No. 7 Dartmouth.
"It would be funny because I played there," Engman said. "Their ladder has been moving around a lot. Their No. 1 is a sophomore, and the No. 2 was the No. 4; their 2-5 are really close, which is just like us. I'm really excited - it would be interesting."
Currently the Bobcats are ranked No. 12 nationally, while Tufts is in a four-way tie with Bowdoin, Colby and Hamilton for No. 13. The Jumbos have not beaten Bates in at least the past eight years, but the team feels ready entering the tournament.
"This week in practice we're more focused on ourselves; on being healthy and in good shape," Engman said. "Last weekend we had a huge problem with health and the flu going around, so this week has been a recovery week."
