Sports
Squash squads exit early in weekend’s NESCAC championship
By Robert Berk ’20
February 9, 2017
Tags sports
This past weekend both Men’s and Women’s Squash competed in the NESCAC Championships. Both Continental teams opened their playoff play against Bowdoin on Friday.
The Hamilton men were seeded tenth in the conference and ranked 29th in the College Squash Associations (C.S.A.) Rankings. They were not far behind the Polar Bears who were ranked 26th in the nation and seventh in the conference. Unfortunately, the Continentals lost the match 7-2. However, the contest was much closer than the final score indicates. Two of the nine matches went to five games, and four more went to four. Callum Sondhi ’20 and Jonathan Ruth ’18 were Hamilton’s winners. Sondhi has had a very impressive first year on the team and is currently second in the ladder. He dropped the first game 8-11 but battled back to win the next three. The third and fourth games were very intense. Sondhi won 11-9 and 12-10, respectively. Ruth outlasted his opponent, Arjun Dravid '19, in a five-set thriller. Ruth lost the first game 6-11 but was able to turn the momentum around, winning the next two 12-10 and 11-8. Dravid was able to stave off defeat winning the fourth game, but Ruth kept his energy level up and won the final game 11-8.
Hamilton’s women’s team was ranked 27th in the C.S.A. rankings and also seeded tenth in the conference. Bowdoin was ranked 21st in the nation and seventh in the NESCAC; the Polar Bears won comfortably 8-1. While most matches were three games, two went the full distance. The Continentals won one of these five game slugfests. Lindsay Jadow ’19 lost the first two games 5-11 and 3-11. She dug deep to win the third 11-9, and continued to compete, winning the final two 11-8 and 11-7.
The women’s team had two matches on Saturday. Their morning match was against Wesleyan University. Wesleyan was the eighth seed in the tournament and 24th according to the C.S.A. rankings. This was the third match between the two teams. The teams split their first two meetings, with the Continentals winning the first 5-4, but losing the second 6-3. The rubber match of the series was another tight contest. Unfortunately, Hamilton fell 5-4. Charlotte Zonis ’19 and Jadow both won their matches in just three games. Zonis outlasted her opponent to gain the victory in her first game, 14-12 and then gave up a total of just 11 points in the next two games combined. Perry Von Stade ’17 lost her first game, but battled back to win the next three. Katherine Bauer ’18 also won her match in four games.
The Continentals’ second match on Saturday was against Connecticut College. The Camels are ranked 29th in the nation. The Continentals made sure to end their weekend on a good note. They dominated their competi- tion, winning the match 7-2. Lillie Simourian ’17, Alex Regan ’17, Bauer and Jadow won in three straight games. This completed the weekend sweep for Jadow as she won all three of her matches. Zonis and Stade won their matches in four games, while Molly Pivirotto ’18 won in five. It was a back and forth affair: she lost the first and third games but won the second, fourth, and crucial fifth. The women’s team finished in tenth place in the conference.
On Saturday, the Hamilton men’s team played Tufts University and Connecticut College. The Tufts Jumbos were 28th in C.S.A. rankings and ninth in the conference, exactly one spot above the Continentals in both. In December, the first time the two teams squared off, the Continentals were able to pull out a 6-3 victory. However, this time around the score flipped, and the Jumbos won 6-3. The match was very close the entire time. When asked about the match, Head Coach Jamie King said, “Our men’s match with Tufts hinged on three matches at the #2 (Sondhi), #4 (Tristan Chaix ’20), and #8 (Atticus Jones ’19) positions that we lost in close five game matches. The guys fought hard with great energy provided by the senior captains Tucker Hamlin, Sam Matlick, and Mark Sperry.” Coach King understands that squash is a game of inches and is not dwelling on the loss: “That is squash; things can go either way.” Colin O’Dowd ’19 and Hamlin swept their matches. Nicholas Conzelman ’20 lost his first game, but rallied to win the next three straight.
The Continentals used their first match as motivation and came out with fire for their second match of the day against 30th-ranked Connecticut College. Hamilton won 6-3 and dominated in many games. Sondhi, Hamlin, Conzelman, and Ruth won in just three games. It was a great day for Hamlin as he won both his matches in three straight games. Chaix and Jones both won in four games. By winning their final match of the tournament, the Continentals earned tenth place in the conference.
When asked about the future, Coach King, who is the head coach of both the men’s and womens’ teams, said, “The men’s team has a cohort of first-years that have shown great improvement and will serve as the positive core of the team in the future. The women’s team has shown tremendous cohesiveness and camaraderie this season despite mixed results on the scoreboard. I am proud of the improvement of all the players; many had to assume unfamiliar starting roles this season.” Next Saturday Hamilton will host both Men’s and Women’s matches against Connecticut College and Bard. On Sunday, the women’s team hosts Colgate. This is the last time this season that the Continentals will be playing at the Little Squash Center.