The Dartmouth men's and women's squash teams were overwhelmed by top-rated competition on Saturday, losing to Yale University and Trinity College by significant margins. The day entailed traveling to each school, which forced the Big Green to play its matches at two different locations.
The No. 9 Dartmouth men (3-2, 0-2 Ivy) began their day with an 11 a.m. match against the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Ivy), the No. 4 team in the nation according to the College Squash Association. Yale proved tough competition, defeating the Big Green, 8-1.
The Big Green's only individual win came from No. 2 Chris Hanson '13, who pulled out a strong 3-2 victory over Bulldog senior Todd Ruth. Hanson's victory gave Yale its first loss in an individual match this season.
"A big positive was that Hanson played really well," head coach Hansi Wiens said. "It was a really exciting match, really fun to watch. He played his best and didn't make many mistakes."
The No. 9 Dartmouth women's team (1-3, 0-2 Ivy) also found the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 Ivy) to be formidable opponents. Although the Big Green put in a strong effort, No. 4 Yale's overpowering performance resulted in Dartmouth failing to win a single match and losing 9-0.
"Despite the score, we had a lot of good matches, and Yale is one of the top teams [in the nation]," co-captain Libbey Brown '10 said. "It showed us that we can compete at a very high level."
Once finished in New Haven, the Big Green traveled to Hartford, Conn., to take on the perennial national champion Trinity College.
Trinity (5-0, 3-0 NESCAC) not only boasts the top-ranked men's team in the country, but also the nation's top-ranked player, senior Baset Chaudhry, who has a 45-2 career record. The Bantams have won 207 consecutive matches the longest-ever winning streak in intercollegiate varsity sports.
Dartmouth was dominated, losing 9-0. Despite his previous success, Hansen failed to capitalize on a few match points and ended up falling in five games, 3-2, to Trinity's Parth Sharma.
The Big Green women also faced a challenge, with the tough Bantam squad (4-0, 1-0 NESCAC) ranked second nationally. Trinity was too much for Dartmouth, and compiled six shutouts over the nine matches played.
"We drove to Trinity and had to play again [after facing Yale]," Brown said. "We just went up there and tried to have a good time. It was actually good that we had Yale to warm up with, and I think we played better in our second match of the day."
The Big Green's top-ranked player, Valeria Wiens '13, is currently ranked No. 18 by the CSA and was a bright spot in the day. She looked sharp in a tight 3-2 loss to No. 12 Bantam senior Nayelly Hernandez.
"The Trinity coach came up to me and told me how surprised he was by our team," coach Wiens said. "Our team is playing really well. They're out there playing hard and doing the best they can do."
Dartmouth will have a week of practice to prepare for away matches against Williams College and Amherst College on Sun., Jan. 17. The match against Williams is important for both Big Green teams, who hope to improve their national rankings.
Although No. 16 Amherst (2-0) should not pose too much of a challenge, the Big Green men need a win against the No. 8 Ephs (7-3, 2-1 NESCAC) in order to have a chance of getting into the national tournament, which only includes eight teams.
In addition to the match against Williams, future meetings with Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania will be important to the Dartmouth men's fate, coach Wiens said.
The women will not have it much easier, when they face the No. 10 Ephs team (7-2, 0-1 NESCAC). This match and an upcoming game against Brown are the most important for the Big Green women, according to coach Wiens.
"The rest of the week we're really going to focus on this match," Brown said. "We're going to practice, stay healthy, stay focused and have fun."