Men
Squash invaded Hanover, N.H., during Winter Carnival weekend as the Dartmouth men's and women's teams entertained a combination of five teams this weekend. The Dartmouth men started the weekend playing top-ranked Princeton. The ferocious Tigers of Princeton feasted on the Big Green, beating it 8-1. The one victory came at No. 7, where senior Scott Judah defeated Aaron Zimmerman. Zimmerman took an early lead, but Scott Judah fought back arduously to tie the score at two games apiece. Scott Judah resembled Zab Judah as he knocked his opponent all around the court in the fifth and decisive game.
After the Princeton debacle, the Big Green had to refocus to play Tufts University. Tufts proved to be rather easy. The Big Green swept the Jumbos, poaching the pachyderms by a score of 9-0. The Berry squash courts looked like a South African game reserve after the slaughtering of the Tufts Elephants. The feeble, incompetent and helpless Tufts squad proved no match for the Big Green. All nine players on the ladder won, 3-0. The most impressive win came from No. 2 James Judah '02, who beat Colin O'Higgins by the scores of 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.
When the dust settled, the Big Green had recovered quickly from its loss to Princeton and taken out its frustrations on Tufts.
On Sunday, the Dartmouth men's squad battled Ivy League rival Penn in a lackluster match. The Big Green won at every slot except No. 5 to notch an easy 8-1 victory. West Philadelphia has produced top-tier basketball players such as "Earl the Pearl" Monroe, Don Chaney and Kobe Bryant, but it does not seem to generate commendable squash players, as Penn proved. Six out of the other eight Dartmouth players won their matches, 3-0 as the Big Green improved its record to 13-5 overall and 3-3 in the Ivy League.
Women
The Dartmouth women's squash team had two conference matches this weekend. The first test for the Big Green women came against the Princeton Tigers. The Tigers proved to be formidable opponents, defeating the Big Green by a score of 6-3. Sarah West '02 and Charlotte Haldeman '03 clinched the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, but that was not enough for the entire squad. West and Haldeman each won their matches, 3-1.
Freshman Martha Ucko was Dartmouth's other winner at No. 8. She defeated Annie Warner, 3-0. The Tufts women were also scheduled to play Dartmouth, but prudently thought better about traveling two hours north just to get their pride bruised. That gave the Big Green the rest of the day off to prepare for Sunday's match against Penn.
Although it was bleak, cold, and dreary outside, the Big Green's match against Penn was stimulating, hot and energetic. The Quakers took the top three spots in the ladder, but the Big Green won at Nos. 4-9 to get the victory. At No. 4, Crosby Hanes '04 went five games against Penn's Rohini Gupta before getting the 3-2 win. At Nos. 5-9, Dartmouth's players all won in three games.
"We had a tough loss to Princeton on Saturday," Haldeman said. "But luckily we play them again this Friday and will hopefully be able to pull out a few more matches. We all rallied and played hard today against Penn to win and clinch the No. 5 seed for Howe Cup. This season has gone very well for us and we are prepared for our final matches next weekend."
