The men's squash team won two of three matches in New Haven this weekend to secure a fifth-place finish in the Howe Cup national championships. Entering the weekend ranked fifth in the nation, the men were forced to scramble to maintain their standing. After falling 9-0 to Princeton on Feb. 27, the men were able to respond with clutch wins against Penn and the University of Western Ontario.
The outcome of Friday's clash with the fourth-ranked Tigers was predictable. Princeton had already blanked the men in Hanover on Feb. 7, and boasted a devastating lineup from top to bottom. Still, Friday's loss meant the Big Green would have to win its next two matches to hold fifth position.
"The boys were in quite a delicate bind," said team member Dan Schneider '07, "but their resolve to win was evident, signaled by a ferocious gnashing of teeth."
Indeed, Saturday's showdown with the Quakers was marked by an intensity so rarely seen on the courts these days. The Big Green's top player, Ryan Donegan '05, used a searing power stroke to dispose quickly of Penn's Gilly Lane. The performance of Hank Alexander '06 was also notable for its aesthetic beauty.
Alexander channeled his rage, avoided unforced errors, and thoroughly manhandled Penn sophomore Jacob Himmelrich. Joining Alexander and Donegan in the winner's circle were Andrei Prokopiw '04, Cam Fortin '05, Tim Vipond '05 and Adam Slutsky '06.
Though the 6-3 dismantling of Penn was satisfying, the Big Green knew that the weekend's most important work was still to come. As the men huddled at a Saturday night team conference at Holiday Inn-New Haven, congratulations on the day's win were quickly replaced with exhortations by head coach John Power to focus on the fifth-place match with UWO.
As Sunday dawned bright and sunny over New Haven, it quickly became clear that the Big Green men had taken Power's message to heart. Like hounds unleashed, the men surged forth, paced by two early wins from Fortin and Chris O'Connell '04.
Slutsky followed with a convincing four-game triumph, while Prokopiw employed a scintillating array of drops and lobs to overwhelm his Canadian counterpart, Josh Schwartz. Having now won four of the first six matches played, Dartmouth needed but one win to prevail in this modern-day battle of the titans.
With team ace Donegan yet to play, the future looked bright for the Dartmouth warriors. While Jesse Nisselson '04 put the final dazzling touches on the last win of his intercollegiate career, Donegan indeed played to form, thundering past Ontario's Rob Nigro in three short games.
As the Big Green men realized that they had indeed finished in fifth place, a rousing battle whoop went up among them. Free now from the heavy tension of match play, several players let the emotions flow freely.
"I'm awfully choked up," said Todd Wood '07.
"It was nice that the seniors all won our last matches," added team muscleman O'Connell. "With my sports career behind me, I'll be able to focus all my energies on music. But I'll never forget my winters with the boys from Hanover."
The Big Green returned to Hanover on Sunday night. Several players acknowledged that the season hadn't quite ended until they'd braved the final challenge of a four-hour ride with Coach Power at the wheel.
As the men stumbled off the bus into the crisp night air, the worrisome drive behind them, some shook hands, others embraced, and a few joined in bittersweet song.
"Such is the essence of college squash," Alexander said. "Teammates now and teammates forever."
