Seeking to avenge a Jan. 21 loss to Amherst at the Pioneer Valley Invitational, the 11th−seeded women's squash team came up short against the national No. 6 Lord Jeffs on Friday in the first round of the NESCAC tournament, losing 9−0. The Jumbos could not earn redemption on Saturday, when they fell to No. 9 Colby 9−0 and No. 10 Conn. College 7−2.
It was a difficult first−round draw for Tufts, and the Amherst women did not let the Jumbos forget it. Coming off an 8−1 drubbing of No. 20 Wesleyan the week before, the Lord Jeffs played an excellent series of matches to shut out the Jumbos.
Amid a slew of sweeps, junior Jessica Rubine was the lone Jumbo to win a set. But after claiming her first set 11−9, she dropped the next three games to lose the match.
On Saturday, the schedule proved no kinder as Tufts fell 9−0 to the Mules, though the team showed improvement by allowing just four sweeps.
Freshman Ann Bellinger and juniors Ushashi Basu and Caitlin Doherty each secured one set against Colby, but that was the only dent they managed to make.
Bellinger had the best start at the No. 4 spot, winning the first set at 11−8 before dropping the next three. Basu, the No. 7 player, fought back well in the second set of her match, defeating her opponent 11−5 to tie the score, but she lost the next two games and the match. Doherty, who played at No. 8 on the ladder, tried to climb back into her match with a solid 11−8 third−set victory, but her effort also proved too little too late.
"Going into the weekend, a few of the players were sick or overcoming illness, and one was injured," freshman Paige Dahlman said. "We cannot control these undesirable situations but simply play the best we can with them."
After the two 9−0 defeats, Tufts had a slightly better display against Conn. College. In the Jumbos' 7−2 loss, Doherty and senior co−captain Alyse Vinoski netted the two wins at the No. 5 and No. 8 spots, respectively. Vinoski, who is currently recovering from a sprained ankle, won a hard−fought five−setter, while Doherty won three close games on her way to victory.
Tufts also suffered two narrow defeats against Conn. College. Senior co−captain Mercedes Barba, playing at the No. 2 spot, led her match two games to one, but her opponent came up with a late surge to steal a 3−2 victory for the Camels. In the No. 6 match, junior Hafsa Chaudhry started 2−0 but also watched her early lead slip away.
The Jumbos lost to both Amherst and Conn. College this season, but they defeated Colby 5−4 on Dec. 3 at the Wesleyan Round Robin.
While the women had a disappointing weekend, the tournament showed them what areas of their game need improvement.
"We need to wait longer before going for our attacking shots, make sure not to try to finish the point too early," Barba said.
Despite feeling slightly deflated, the squad still has several more chances at redemption, with the first one coming tomorrow against No. 36 Northeastern.
"We would really have liked to beat Colby again this past weekend and to have secured a win against Connecticut," Barba said. "But I'm confident that when we face them again at Nationals [on March 2−4], we will be able to defeat both teams.
For a recap of the men's squash team's performance, check out the Daily sports blog at blogs.tuftsdaily.com/thescore.
