The Dartmouth men’s and women’s squash teams each won one match over winter break, with the men defeating No. 14 U.S. Naval Academy and the women taking down No. 10 Franklin & Marshall
College. A 1-2 interim allowed the men to hold onto their No. 10 ranking while a 1-1 break kept the women at No. 8 in the nation.
Both teams opened their seasons against Harvard University, whose women’s and men’s teams are ranked first and second in the nation, respectively, on Dec. 3. The Big Green teams were outmatched by their rivals from Cambridge — both fell 9-0. On the men’s side, only Michael Mistras ’15 and Bayard Kuensell ’15 won games. In his collegiate debut, Glen Brickman ’17 beat Crimson sophomore Sam Goldberg at the No. 10 spot. His victory, however, did not count toward the overall score, as only competitors in the first nine spots count toward match scoring.
The women fared no better against the top-ranked Crimson, with only Melina Turk ’14, Oona Morris ’15 and Tori Dewey ’16 winning games.
Players used the matches to set high goals, Kate Nimmo ’14 said.
“We noticed that our level of fitness was equal to theirs, but some technical things set them apart,” she added
Freshmen said they enjoyed starting their college careers with tough competition.
“I could see the level of squash playing that could be achieved,” said Jackie Barnes ’17, who played in the number one spot against Harvard.
After the home match, both teams traveled to Lancaster, Penn. The women enjoyed a strong 8-1 victory against the Franklin & Marshall’s No. 13 Diplomats while the men suffered a 7-2 loss to the No. 6 Diplomats.
For the women, Barnes was the only team member to lose, falling in four games in the number one spot. While the top three matches extended to four and five games, the Big Green women shellacked the Diplomats’ players in spots four through nine to pull away for the win.
“Everyone was playing very well, and it was a nice first win of the season,” Nimmo said. “We have quite a few matches that are away this season so the trip made us more excited for the few home matches we do have.”
The men, however, did not fare as well. Only Chris Jung ’14 and Mark Funk ’15 pulled out wins. Funk rallied after dropping the first two games to take the match in five. Five of nine Dartmouth men won games and virtually all games camedown to a few points.
The following day, the Big Green traveled to Annapolis, Md., to take on the Midshipmen. They clinched their first win of the season in a close 5-4 match. Funk, Mistras, James Fisch ’16, Fletcher Pease ’14 and Jung picked up wins.
The match was crucial, Jung said, because the teams are so closely matched both on the court and in the rankings.
“Navy is always a couple spots behind us, so it’s usually a must-win match,” he added.
During the men’s matches, the women played an unofficial scrimmage against the junior varsity Navy men.
“It was a really fun match since it was low key, and going to the Naval Academy is a very cool experience.” Nimmo said.
The squash teams return to the courts this weekend at home for matches against the highly-ranked teams from the Pennsylvania and Princeton University. The Quaker men are ranked No. 13, and the Tiger men hold the No. 7 spot. The Penn and Princeton women sit at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
