The men's and women's squash teams, preparing for their upcoming seasons, competed at the Ivy League Scrimmages in New Haven, Conn. ,last weekend. The highlight of the two-day affair was the Big Green men's 5-4 victory over Harvard the team's first-ever defeat of the Crimson, according to head coach Hansi Wiens.
The bottom half of the Big Green's nine-man squad provided four of the five victories required to win the best-of-nine match, with players six through nine all besting their respective opponents. Nick Sisodia '12, who plays in the No. 2 slot for Dartmouth, brought the fifth victory, narrowly overcoming his opponent 3-2 in the first-to-three-games contest.
"We've had a lot of close losses to Harvard," Wiens said. "This victory will help us when we play them in four weeks time."
The women's team also came away with a big win on the weekend, defeating Brown 7-2. Last year, the Bears beat the Big Green 5-4.
Co-captain Libbey Brown '10 called the win a "solid performance."
The men's team lost its other two games, falling to Yale 9-0 and Cornell 7-2. Yale would go on to win the event.
The match against Cornell, however, was closer than the score indicates three of Dartmouth's losses went to five games. The Big Green's two wins came from number one Chris Hanson '13 and number three Michael Shrubb '10.
"The match against Cornell could have gone either way," Shrubb said. "Only a few points separated us."
The women's team also went 1-2 on the weekend, losing to perennial Ivy League champions Harvard, 9-0, and Cornell, 6-3. Valeria Wiens '13, Corey Schafer '13 and Julia Watson '11 provided Dartmouth's three wins against the Big Red.
"We had a really good chance in a few matches," Wiens said. "The next time we play Cornell, we'll have a good chance of beating them."
The play of the team's younger women was a bright spot for the Big Green.
"The freshmen did a great job for us," co-captain Elizabeth Weintraub '10 said.
Looking forward, members of both teams said they will look to improve on this weekend's successes before the start of regular season play.
"Even though it was just a scrimmage, it sets the stage for the season," Shrubb said. "The guys are really happy about it, and we've worked hard, so it's nice to see all that hard work result in wins."
"I think it was very successful," Brown said. "One of the best things about scrimmages is that they tell you what you've done well and what you need to work on."
Both teams said changes implemented by Wiens, who is currently in his first season as head coach, have led to more intense and varied training.
Wiens spent two years as an assistant coach at Dartmouth before taking the reins from previous head coach John Power, who retired in April after 11 years on the job.
"I changed a lot," Wiens said. "We don't practice as long as we did, but we have more sessions a week. They're more active."
The teams have responded enthusiastically to this style of coaching, several players said.
"He's doing amazingly," Shrubb said. "Practices are vibrant and every day's been a new thing. We never get bored."
Wiens has also implemented a more unorthodox method of getting his players in shape.
"We added yoga," Wiens said. "It makes you more mobile and able to move better on the court."
The revamped practices and preseason success have given both teams a great deal of optimism going into the season.
"We finished last season eighth in the country," Shrubb said. "We can finish higher. This is the best team I've seen in my four years."
"The entire team is excited about the new season," Brown said. "I think it's a foundation for success."
The men's team has two weeks off before opening its season against Navy on Nov. 21 in Annapolis, Md. The women's team, meanwhile, begins its season on Nov. 22 in Lancaster, Pa., against Franklin and Marshall.
