The Dartmouth men's and women's squash teams came out of Winter Carnival weekend with 1-2 records, as both teams lost their Ivy matches against highly ranked Princeton and Penn teams.
On Sunday the men's team (13-5, 2-4 Ivy), ranked sixth in national collegiate squash, lost to No. 8 Penn (7-6, 2-4 Ivy) in a tough match that ended up 7-2.
Head coach John Power was satisfied with the level of play, noting that the match was closer than the final score suggests.
"They played well," Power said. "If either or both of the close matches had turned around, a couple of the other matches could have had more implications."
Co-captain Adam King '08 also remarked that, despite the loss, the Big Green still has a chance to battle in the top-eight bracket of the College Squash Association Championships.
"Penn's a really good team, a little stronger than us," King said. "I think they're definitely beatable though. This was kind of a big match for us, I think we took it pretty seriously, but in retrospect, it's not that important, we're still in the top eight division of nationals."
King, playing in the third spot, lost 3-2 in a close contest that was the final home match of his Dartmouth career. Despite the 11 a.m. start time, a rowdy crowd was on hand to support King.
Though he eventually lost, King was satisfied with his performance.
"I would've liked to win it, but I think I played pretty well," King said. "The other guy was just a little too strong for me. Hopefully next week I'll get him."
Co-captain Ted Newhouse '09 was also impressed by King's effort.
"King did a phenomenal job for his last home match," Newhouse said.
In Dartmouth's number two spot, Newhouse played a heated match that almost came to blows when his opponent contested the final point of the third game. Newhouse eventually prevailed 3-1, winning his final game 10-8.
"Ted Newhouse came out with a pretty big win," King said. "He's lost to that guy several times before, so he had a little mental disadvantage, but he came through, he battled hard, and he played some good squash,"
Tyler Young '09, playing in the eighth slot, also played impressively, winning his match in four games.
The Penn game came after a tough 9-0 loss to No. 2 Princeton (7-1, 5-0 Ivy) on Saturday. Stephen Preefer '11, playing in the No. 7 spot, was the only Big Green player to win a set, ultimately losing his match 3-1. Preefer is on The Dartmouth staff.
Though he did not win any games, Andrew Boumford '09 also played a competitive match against Princeton's number one seed, the second-ranked player in collegiate squash.
In the team's second match on Saturday, Dartmouth swept Middlebury, defeating the Panthers 9-0 and not losing a single game, even without the help of No.1, No.2, or No.7 players in the lineup.
The women's team (10-6, 2-4 Ivy) went 0-2 in its Ivy matches, losing each 9-0, but played a particularly tough match against No. 1 Penn (11-0, 5-0 Ivy).
Co-captain Becca Loucks '08 was pleased with the results of the weekend.
"The team played absolutely great against such a tough opponent," Loucks said in an e-mail. "We might not have gotten a 'w' on the scoreboard, but that totally didn't reflect how awesome our team played."
Highlights in the women's match included close 3-2 losses by Madeline Lurio '09 in the No. 3 spot and Libbey Brown '10 in the No. 5 spot. Loucks, Hannah Conant '11, Maura Doherty '11 and Elizabeth Weintraub '10 all fell 3-1.
Power was particularly impressed with Loucks's performance in her final home matches.
"Becca had a little bit of fire in her eye," Power said. "Both yesterday and today, I think she played really well."
On Saturday, the Big Green was swept by Princeton (6-1, 4-1 Ivy) on Saturday, losing the contest 9-0.
The women's squad was saved from a blank by co-captain Christie Alexander '08, who, after winning a game, was forced to default her match due to knee pain.
After a tough game against Princeton, the Big Green swept Middlebury 9-0, allowing only one game in the entire match.
The men's team travels to Harvard (5-2, 3-1 Ivy) this weekend to compete in the CSA Championships and battle for its spot in the top eight. King cited a need for consistent performances by all of the players to make the team competitive in their matches next weekend.
"We realized that Penn's probably a little stronger than we thought, but I don't think we're too discouraged," King said. "We need nine strong performances by all of our guys. If that happens, it'll be a decent battle."
Meanwhile, the women's team will return to play in two weeks, when the Big Green will travel to Princeton, N.J. to compete in the Howe Cup.
Loucks was confident in the team's potential to perform well at the Howe Cup.
"We made that strong team work hard for every point, match and game that they won," Loucks said. "Now we have two weeks to train for our Howe Cup weekend and after our excellent performance this weekend we should all have the confidence to know that we can compete with any opponent out there."
