The Dartmouth men's squash team battled Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. over the weekend but was unable to capture any wins against the No. 1 team in the country, losing 9-0. The Big Green's three-match wining streak was snapped, but the team maintained a positive attitude despite the loss. The sweep marks the seventh for the Bantam men this season.
While the Big Green (6-4, 1-2 Ivy) has been unable to take a match from the Bantams (12-1, 1-0 NESCAC) for many years, this winter's matches were closer than usual and exhibited the improvement of the program. Robbie Maycock '13, Bayard Kuensell '15 and Luke Lee '12 all forced their matches into fourth games and Alex Kurth '13 battled through five games before he fell to Elroy Leong.
Maycock took the opening game against Vishrab Kotian, 11-8, but went on to lose the next three games 8-11, 13-15 and 11-13. Kuensell dropped the first game to Juan Lopez and tied the tally in the second, but could not rally to take any more games. Lee won the third game against Johan Detter, 12-10 before falling in the fourth. Kurth took the lead early against Leong, snagging the opening game, 12-10, but went on to drop the second and third games 11-8 and 11-6. He knotted the match at 2-2 with a victory in the fourth game, but fell 11-7 in the decisive fifth, allowing Trinity to preserve its sweep.
Co-captain Brian O'Toole '12 said he felt the team demonstrated a higher level of play against Trinity than it had in the past.
"Today was the closest we have ever played them," O'Toole said. "They are definitively the better team, but we are closing the gap. Every match was tight and up for grabs. It was as good as it can get against Trinity."
O'Toole believes the loss will not curb the team's momentum but instead will give it hope for the rest of the season.
"It gives us hope moving forward seeing how we played against the best team in the country," O'Toole said. "While we didn't get a lot of wins, we were in every match and can learn from it. Playing a team of that quality helps us to get ready to be back on court."
The Big Green women (3-4, 0-3 Ivy) fared similarly against the Bantams (11-2, 1-0 NESCAC), falling 9-0, but were successful in keeping the matches competitive and improving from last season. Trinity was ranked No. 5 coming into the match with Dartmouth three slots behind at No. 8.
Three of the nine matches went past the minimum three games, but no Big Green player managed to win more than one game against her opponent. Becky Lau '13 went down early to Wee Nee Low, 8-11, 12-14, but took the third game 11-7. Ultimately Lau fell, 10-12, in the fourth. Katherine Nimmo '14 also lost her opening game to Andrea Echeverria 8-11, but quickly recovered with a 12-10 victory in the second game. Echeverria went on to take the final two games, 11-5, 11-3. Helena Darling '15 was the other Dartmouth player to force a fourth game. Darling came out strong against Pamela Larromana and won the opener 13-11, but could not maintain the advantage in the next three games, losing 4-11, 3-11, 6-11.
"We weren't thinking going in that they were unreachable at No. 5, and knew we could be competitive with them," Captain Julia Watson '12 said. "Ultimately, we ended up losing 9-0, but it was nice because all 14 of us traveled and got to play matches. There were good matches out there. They were just more consistent than we were.
More of Trinity's courts have glass walls than Dartmouth's and Watson said "more time to practice and adjust might have helped" the Big Green adapt to the new environment.
Watson added that Dartmouth must finish the season strongly if it wants to qualify for the national tournament.
"Our aim is to stay in the top eight so we can play in the top division of the Howe Cup at the end of the season," Watson said. "The tournament is nice because we have played almost everyone before and know what to expect. It is also a challenge, though, to replicate the success you had last time or to do better."
Head coach Hansi Wiens felt both teams looked better than in previous years.
"I did not feel like we were overpowered, and each match had possibilities to go either way," Wiens said. "We were much closer to them this year and may get another chance to play them in a couple of weeks, and it could be a different turnout. The matches were very close, and while it is not good to lose, we are on the right track, and I am happy with the way it went."
Dartmouth faces Cornell University and Columbia University in a pair of Ivy League road contests this weekend.
