For the women's squash team, a season full of close losses and shutouts was unsurprising given the inexperienced squad, whose starting nine consisted of just one senior and three rookie players, two of whom had barely picked up a squash racket before the season began.
Yet the Jumbos maintained all season that they were capable of better and finally proved that this weekend at the Walker Cup in Princeton, N.J. After losing its opening round match, Tufts recovered to win two consolation matches, ending the season on a high note and finishing with a 9−14 overall record.
The No. 24 Jumbos finished 21st overall in the tournament, an improvement over last season, when they came in second in the Epps Cup D division, equivalent to 26th place.
On Sunday, Tufts, the lowest seed in the tournament's C division, beat No. 22 Vassar 6−3 in the final round of the consolation bracket to secure fifth place. The previous day, Tufts, which had not beaten a team above it in the rankings all season, faced No. 21 Colby, a team that twice beat them 5−4 during the regular season. Yet the Jumbos reversed the trend, upsetting the Mules for a 5−4 win.
On Friday, Tufts lost its first match against the division's top seed, No. 17 Franklin & Marshall (F&M), 9−0. F&M went on to finish first in the Walker Cup, beating No. 18 Hamilton 5−4 in the final round.
"Beating [Colby and Vassar] was, of course, great because we believed that we could do it all along," senior co−captain Valerie Koo said. "In our previous matchups, we just psyched ourselves [out], but this time around we knew it was our last chance and everyone definitely played hard."
The Jumbos' victory over Vassar in the consolation−round final was a team effort, with the top six of the Tufts' ladder all bringing in wins. Koo, junior co−captain No. 3 Mercedes Barba and junior No. 5 Alyse Vinosky each won in three games, while junior No. 1 Alix Michael and sophomores No. 4 Jess Rubine and No. 6 Ushashi Basu pulled out four−game victories. At the No. 7 spot, sophomore Hafsa Chaudhry had a close five game loss against Vassar sophomore Avery Siciliano.
Tufts lost to Vassar 6−3 just one week earlier, on Feb. 13, with the only Tufts wins coming from Koo, Barba and Vinoski.
Tufts showed depth and strength against NESCAC rivals Colby, with wins coming up and down the ladder. Michael, after losing to sophomore Kate Pistel in both matchups in the regular season, managed to pull through with a win in a five game match: 8−11, 11−8, 11−8, 6−11, 11−9.
Basu beat Colby junior Coco Cowan in four games after splitting her two previous matchups against her. The final and deciding win came from sophomore Caitlin Doherty at the No. 9 spot, who won in five games against senior Ellie Hoyt to clinch the victory for the Jumbos.
Doherty is one of two players on the team who had never played squash prior to the season's start.
"It felt so great to help the team win, especially since it was such a vital game. I've learned so much this season and [Coach] Belkys [Velez] has really helped me improve my technique and figure out how to play up my skills against opponents," Doherty said. "Coming into the season with no experience, I never really expected to have such an integral part in how the team does."
In the first game of the Walker Cup against F&M, eight of Tufts' nine matches were lost in three games, with Vinoski, who won the first game 11−9 at the No. 5 spot before dropping three in a row, as the only exception. Koo played a competitive first game against sophomore Chelsea Ross in which she lost 18−16. She then fell 11−8 in both consecutive games.
The CSA individual squash championships are held at Dartmouth on March 4−6. Michael, the Jumbos' top performer, will likely be the sole Tufts entry in the tournament.
