Wins proved elusive for the men's and women's squash teams at Individual Nationals at Amherst this past weekend, but the event offered the Jumbos a chance to compete against some of the nation's best players and to see how they can improve. None of the three players who represented Tufts at Individual Nationals had previous experience at an event of this magnitude, and the experience they gained will serve them well in the future.
Freshman Zach Schweitzer was the lone Jumbo on the men's team to make the trip to the championships. He entered the Molloy Division as the No. 46 seed, matched up with Hunter Abrams of the Naval Academy, who bested Schweitzer in three sets. Though Schweitzer was the underdog, he did not take the defeat easily, describing his first−round loss as "terrible."
Things didn't improve for Schweitzer in the consolation bracket, as he fell again in three sets, this time to NYU's James Hill.
"I'd been playing well all season and kind of peaked at Nationals two weeks ago," Schweitzer said. "This weekend [there] was just a lack of focus and lack of fitness. It was just a bad showing overall."
On the women's side, junior Jessica Rubine met a similar demise, losing in the first round of the Holleran Division as the No. 38 seed and then again in the consolation draw.
"It was a little disappointing," Rubine said. "But it was a really great experience, so next year I'm sure I'll be at a higher level."
Rubine was joined by freshman Paige Dahlman, who found herself called into action as a replacement when a second−seeded Stanford player withdrew, making Dahlman the only Tufts athlete to advance past Friday morning play.
Dahlman's loss on Saturday ended the Jumbos' tournament hopes, leaving the team without a victory in its five matches.
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