The women's squash team was honored with the selection of two of its players to represent it at the College Squash Association Individual Championships at Williams, and the Jumbos did not disappoint.
In her second appearance in the tournament, senior tri-captain Victoria Barba made the most of her last time playing in a Tufts uniform, winning her first-round match in the B bracket and making it to the second consolation quarterfinal. Her teammate, junior Stefanie Marx, also made a splash in the consolation B bracket, getting to the semifinals and coming just points away from a shot at the final.
Barba went 0-2 in the tournament her sophomore year and was looking to dig her teeth in this time around.
"I had a very bad experience sophomore year," Barba said. "I went in and was all pumped up and then lost two in a row, which was very disappointing. This year, I was really happy with how it went."
"It's very tough to close out with a win," coach Doug Eng said of his senior tri-captain. "She was 2-2 on the weekend, so I think overall she's happy."
Despite having lost in the second round of the tournament, Barba made a deep run in consolations before losing three straight games to Bowdoin's senior tri-captain Alexandra Franceschi, 9-2, 9-7, 9-7. In her preceding match, Barba matched up against Hamilton junior Kristen Rubin, who had beaten Barba twice before in earlier collegiate standoffs. Unafraid, Barba pulled out three close games for a 9-7, 10-8, 9-3 victory.
"I have been playing [Rubin] since juniors," Barba said. "In juniors, I always used to beat her, so I was disappointed with my college squash because this girl I used to beat religiously was now beating me. This weekend, I finally beat her. I was happy and it showed that my game had improved."
"Towards the end of the season and at Individuals she played so well," said Marx of her team leader. "From what I saw, she was so focused, and beating [Rubin] was really great for her."
Though Barba saw early success in the Halloran Cup, she found herself facing elimination at the hands of Yale freshman Alexandra Kerr, who won in three, 9-6, 9-0, 9-0, in the second round of the tournament.
"[Kerr] was very good," Barba said. "She stood at the T and was able to pick off everything I hit. I have a very 'lobby' game, and I knew I needed to hit it low and hard, but that just isn't one of my strengths. She was a very smart player and just knew where to place the ball."
In the first round, Barba dealt easily with George Washington University freshman Lauren Mathieu by a score of 10-8, 9-3, 9-3, making her the first Tufts woman to win a first-round match in CSA Individuals this century.
"It was a favorable draw, and Victoria just needed to play a solid match," Eng said. "She did just that and came away with a win."
Marx had an equally impressive run in the consolation bracket. After a three-game loss in the first round, she rebounded to play three five-game matches on her way to the semifinals.
Once there, Marx found herself on one end of a fierce five-game battle. She managed to take the first two games before the tides turned and Bowdoin senior tri-captain Liz Gillespie rallied in three games to take the match 7-9, 6-9, 9-1, 9-1 and 9-4.
"During the first two games, I went back to the basics and tried to keep her in the back of the court," Marx said. "After that, she became more focused, and I became less so. She had a strong forehand, and if I ever had a loose ball in the center of the court, she put it away. At that point I think the pressure got to me."
"When [Marx] comes out hustling, she can go pretty far," Eng said. "Had she won, it would have probably been the biggest of the year for her, but just to have it go to five is a nice accomplishment."
Facing off against Franklin and Marshall freshman Ellie Foster in the quarterfinals, Marx handily defeated her opponent in four games, allowing for her advancement.
Marx's first victim of the consolation tournament came over Columbia senior Olivia Tandon, who took two of the first three games before Marx turned the corner to take the five-game match.
"You can only lose two matches; then you get kicked out of the tournament," Marx said. "I wanted to be playing, not just watching. I was very determined, and I really stepped it up and played one of my best matches."
