Junior co−captain Mercedes Barba entered the CSA Individual Tournament this weekend knowing she would face superior competition after coach Belkys Velez picked her, the women's squash team's No. 3 player, to compete instead of the team's No. 1 player, junior Alix Michael.
Barba was seeded No. 51 in the Holleran Division, which included the 33rd− through 96th−ranked players in the nation. Facing higher−ranked players, she lost both games she played. Velez, though, was pleased with the junior's performance.
"I'm very happy with how Mercedes did in the individual tournament," Velez said.
"[She] did her best and played very well against really strong players. She put all her effort on the court and tried at every single shot," Velez continued. "It is impressive that she was able to get points and games against strong competition."
After losing her first match on Friday, Barba entered the consolation−round bracket. She had a bye in the first round and then faced Wellesley's No. 1 player, Rosemary O'Connor, in the second.
Barba put up a good fight but ultimately lost 3−1, resulting in her elimination from the tournament. She lost the first two games but won the third game in a close 12−10 battle before dropping the fourth in a hard−fought 11−9 round.
O'Connor faced Michael both times the Jumbos played Wellesley this season. In the first go−around, Michael defeated O'Connor in five close games, and later in the season, O'Connor cruised to a three−game victory.
In her first−round match, Barba was pitted against Brown freshman Dori Rahbar, who is ranked No. 26 in the country. Rahbar beat Barba in three games, losing just eight points and shutting out Barba 11−0 in the third.
"It was difficult to play against Rahbar because she had a very strong front game. This year I couldn't have beaten her no matter what day it was, but hopefully next year I'll be at that level of competition," Barba said. "But against [O'Connor], I think I could have definitely won. I was hoping to close out the match, but it was a combination of me not hitting the right shots and getting tired by the end of it."
Brown beat Tufts 9−0 on Nov. 19, Tufts' first match of the season. Then, Rahbar played at the No. 2 spot against senior co−captain Valerie Koo, beating her in three games. Koo fared slightly better than Barba, though, scoring 14 points.
That day, Barba fell to Sarah Domenick, who also played in the Holleran Division of the CSA Tournament this weekend. After beating Barba, Rahbar lost to Princeton senior Nikki Sequeira in a five−game contest. The winner of the Holleran Divison was Princeton junior Katie Giovinazzo, who took the title after beating her own teammate, freshman Alexandra Sawin, in the semifinal round.
After this weekend's tournament, Barba was optimistic about how the Jumbos will fare next season. Koo is the only graduating player on the team, and after Velez's recruiting efforts this season, the Jumbos hope to add at least one more experienced player to the roster.
"It was a really good experience to play against and watch the top players," Barba said. "It's always good to watch other people's games. This weekend motivated me to pick it up a notch in the off−season for next year."
