"The weekend went really well," said head coach John Power. "Our team certainly dominated the top divisions."
With over 50 men and women participating, the Snowflake Tournament was divided into draws. The men were divided into A, B and C divisions, and the women into A and B levels. Every player had at least three matches and, in most cases, competed four times over the two-day free-for-all. Big Green teammates even faced each other on several occasions, resulting, according to Power, in "team ladder pressure as well as a good tournament result."
Drury perhaps accomplished the most notable feat of the tournament, defeating Wesleyan University's men's and women's coach and former ranked player Shona Kerr in a marathon match for the A-division title. The struggle produced sweat, pain and a match that was not decided until the final point of the final game. Drury eked out a 10-8 victory in the fifth game of the best-of-five battle.
Drury admitted that winning the match was not easy. "My match against Shona Kerr was very mentally and physically exhausting," she said. "She's a wonderful player who has played many of the team events in England and has been ranked professionally. I could not really call my win a defeat [for Kerr] because up until the fifth game the match could have easily gone in her favor."
The Dartmouth men also fared well in the Snowflake Tournament, with Boumford capturing the crown in the class-A championship. The rookie stud completed the entire tournament without dropping a single game -- a spectacular feat. In the final, he triumphed over fellow teammate Todd Wood.
After the tournament, Boumford spoke modestly of his stellar performance. "Overall, I felt I played well in the tournament," he said.
The Big Green men and women had Monday off and practiced lightly yesterday before heading to Williams College tonight for what Power called "a good test, especially for the men."
Both Dartmouth squads will then visit top-ranked defending national champions on Saturday. In a double-header, the No. 7-ranked Big Green men's team will face No. 1 Trinity before a matchup with Yale, while the No. 5-ranked women's team will swing its rackets against No. 1 Yale.
Admitting that superior squash skill was not the only reason for her victory against Shona Kerr, Drury said, "I think I won the final points of the match because I had a little more energy in the end and to be honest, a little luck."
The Big Green will try to harness that luck and energy this weekend to earn two huge victories.
