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The Dartmouth
July 25, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Women's squash tops Amherst

The women's squash team continued to put the pedal to the metal with a 6-3 win over Amherst yesterday. Coach Chris Brownell's troops are now riding a seven-game win streak as they head into the second half of their season with a 8-1 overall record.

Brownell could not have been more pleased with the results against Amherst. Despite anticipating an easy match, Amherst was much tougher than the Big Green had anticipated. "We went in thinking this team was going to be weaker than it really was today," Brownell said. "Amherst lost to Bowdoin, a team we destroyed, but we didn't know they lost without two of their key players. However, a win is a win."

Against the Lord Jeffs of Amherst, Dartmouth quickly realized that they'd have to break a sweat if they wanted the win. At the top spot, Laurie Sykes '99 was quickly defeated by her opponent 3-0. Although Sykes fought valiantly, she was unable to match the consistency and experience of her older opponent.

Co-Captain Heather Duckworth '98 chalked up the first win for the Big Green to tie the match at 1-1, with a solid 3-1 victory over Rachel Nisselson. Despite having had disappointing results in the last few matches, Duckworth played with a renewed confidence that impressed Brownell.

"Duckworth seems to have broken her slump," Brownell said. "She defeated a quality player pretty soundly."

However, Amherst quickly responded as Dartmouth's Jen Karlen '98 lost 3-0. Sophomore Jenny Johnson tied the match at 2 with an impressive 3-0 win over her opponent. Johnson played quite well and was able to control the long rallies with patient, deep shots that eventually fatigued the Amherst player.

Amherst bounced right back in the number-five slot where Lindsey Rhoads '00 fell 3-1 in a well-played match. From there, though, the Big Green's depth proved to be too much as it swept the last four matches to escape with a close win. Carolyn Levine '00, Andra Winokur '99, and Louisa Serene '00 all bageled their opponents in three games, while Brady Beale '97 won in four games.

In the last home match of her Dartmouth career, Beale fought back after trailing 1-0, playing furiously to emerge victorious.

Against Trinity last Saturday, the Big Green came out on top with a 7-2 win. Levine, Rhoads, Johnson, Winokur, Karlen, co-Captain Tory McEvoy '97, and Sykes all won for Dartmouth. In the match of the day, Karlen fought back tenaciously to defeat her opponent 3-2.

The Big Green will travel south this weekend for two tough Ancient Eight match-ups against Princeton and Penn. Brownell thinks her players are ready. "The seven-game winning streak is certainly in our favor, but this weekend will be a dog fight," she said.