The women's squash team played four matches this week, finishing 2-2 with very different performances in each.
The team's best match of the week took place on Tuesday, with a sweep of Northeastern, 9-0, in the team's home opener. Not only did Tufts earn victories in the top nine positions, but all nine players also won in just three games. No Northeastern player was able to score more than 21 total points throughout her three games.
The dominant performance was led by sophomore Paget Stanco, who matched up against Northeastern's Olivia Simone. The Huskies were without their top player, Jenny Janek, for unknown reasons, making Simone the toughest competition at the match.
However, this did not change Stanco's gameplan.
"Regardless of the change in the ladder, I still had a harder match," Stanco said. "As expected, the No. 1 player on every team we play is strong."
Stanco came out on top, winning all three games by scores of 11-6, 11-9, 11-6.
"[Tuesday] night was an off night for me, personally," Stanco said. "I was having a hard time getting my drives deep, so I got stuck behind my appointment a few times in each game, causing me to lose the point. I definitely did not bring my A-game last night, but it was a good opportunity for me to adjust in a situation where all of my shots were not going as planned."
This success was much needed for the Jumbos, who were coming off a 9-0 loss to Williams two days earlier.
Stanco was the only player to win any game against the Ephs on Sunday, taking the first game by a score of 10-12 and third game by a score of 7-11. But, by losing the second, fourth and tiebreaking fifth games, Stanco lost the match. The rest of the top nine positions also did not fare any better and were completely swept.
"Williams is ranked No. 13, so that was a really tough match," sophomore Talia Hulkower said. "But everyone still played really hard. It was a good learning experience to play someone with that much talent. Now I know what I really need to work on."
The day before, the Jumbos earned a resounding 7-2 win against Brandeis. Freshman Lynn Cheng earned a victory in the first position to start the match, and freshman Anna Bezahler and sophomore Tammara Gary won their matches in the second and third positions, respectively. After a loss in the fourth position, junior Ellie Monroe earned a victory in the fifth spot. The team won positions seven through nine by default for a final score of 7-2.
The victory was the team's first of the season after dropping its first match of the year to Mount Holyoke by a score of 8-1 on Friday.
Junior Ann Bellinger was the lone bright spot against the Lyons, earning a victory in the fifth position, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8. Stanco gave her opponent a run for her money in the first position but fell in three games, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7. The rest of the match was dominated by Mount Holyoke.
The team's next match comes on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass. against Bowdoin. The Jumbos will attempt to do what they have been unable to accomplish thus far - win two consecutive matches. But if the team can continue to play as well as it did on Tuesday, it is sure to be successful. There are only three more weekends of matches left this semester, with the second half of the season starting on Jan. 18.
"Our team has a lot of potential this year, and I am really looking forward to the second half of our season next semester," Stanco said.
