The men's and women's squash teams were back in action to take on Williams College yesterday afternoon after a month long break.
The women won by a score of 8-1, upping their record to a perfect 4-0. The men had a little more trouble, dropping a 7-2 decision to the Purple Cows and falling 3-2 overall.
Seven of the Big Green women won straight games, showing why their team is ranked in the top five nationally. Laurie Sykes, playing at number two, Jenny Gallagher '96 at number four, Jenny Johnson '99 at number five, Jen Karlen '98 at number six, Andra Winokur '99 at number seven, Trisha Cunningham '96 at number eight and Tory McEvoy '97 at number nine all won 3-0.
Men's and women's Coach Chris Brownell was pleased with the play of her team and with the seven straight-game wins.
Melissa McCollum '96 won her best-of-five match three games to one, while Heather Duckworth '98, playing in the number one slot, lost 3-0.
"Heather lost her match in three, but I think she can beat this kid the next time we play her," Brownell said.
The women have elevated the caliber of their game both individually and as a team since last year, a rise that can in part be attributed to the strength of the freshman class.
"Laurie Sykes is a bona-fide collegiate player, and it is great to have a freshman come in at the top of the ladder," Brownell said. "She is going to push Heather Duckworth."
With the depth of upperclassmen like Duckworth, Gallagher and Karlen and the energy of the newcomers, the team possesses a great mix of experience and talent that opponents like Williams cannot ignore.
Still, Brownell is not too high after the decisive win.
"It is sort of like a quiet excitement about today's match," she said. "It's a long season."
For the men, John Gabel '98 was a winner in the number three slot, as he took his opponent to a five game match and won 15-10 in the final game. Billy Tarr '98 played in the number eight spot and was the other winner for the Big Green.
"John Gabel had a terrific win at number three," Brownell said. "He beat last week's NIRSA Rookie-of-the-Week."
"Williams is very strong," Tarr said. "They've got a lot of good players, some of whom we actually tried to get through the recruiting process."
Brownell attributed a portion of the problems her team had to the width of the court. The International game has switched from a narrow court to a wider one, and though the college game has followed suit, teams have until 1997 to conform to the new regulations. Until then, when a hosting facility like Dartmouth has courts of both sizes, it is up to the coaches to decide where they will play. The Williams coach chose to play on the more narrow court.
"It ends up becoming a caveman game," Brownell said. "You have to take a big swing to get the ball to go anywhere, and it ends up coming down to who wants it more. Williams didn't necessarily want it more, but their racquet skills were a little better than ours."
"They definitely had potential to win," she added. "Tucker Richmond '99, Will Leicht '99 and Ross Hallock '97 all could have won."
Both the men's and women's teams will travel to Yale next weekend to face Yale and Navy.
