Sports
Men’s squash eclipses top 20 in national rankings
By Paige Engeldrum '13, Sports Contributor
February 23, 2012
The men’s squash team travelled to the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey to compete in the 2012 College Squash Association (CSA) Men’s National Team Championship this past weekend. After defeating Wesleyan, the team suffered struggling defeats against Colby and Bowdoin.
Hamilton faced 19th-ranked Wesleyan twice earlier in the season, resulting in split matches. The Continentals prevailed in the rubber match, defeating the Cardinals in a close 5-4 match. Martin Bawden ’14, Harry Keeshan ’13, Peter Harrison ’15, Ted Nehrbas ’15 and Walker Lourie ’15 all won their individual matches. Lourie, Nehrbas and Keeshan were especially vital to the team’s win. Captain Tim Gray ’12 unfortunately suffered an injury, so Laurie stepped in on short notice to play in the ninth position. Additionally, Nehrbas and Keeshan both clinched their victories in close five and four game matches, respectively. The victory against Wesleyan placed Hamilton into the top 20 of the national rankings.
The following day, Hamilton encountered Colby. Like in their match a day earlier, the Continentals entered having previously split outcomes in two prior matches this season.
However, the match carried significantly more weight than the Wesleyan match, seeing that the Continentals have really fostered a rivalry with Colby this past year. Unfortunately, the match resulted in a 4-5 loss. Bawden, Alex Wood ’12, Keeshan and Harrison were victorious for Hamilton.
At the fifth position in the lineup, first year Teddy Black was the last player on the court with the match tied 4-4. If there has ever been a close match in the history of squash, this was it, as Black fell 20-18 in the fifth game.
“I think I can confidently say that we won’t lose to Colby in the next three years,” stated Senior Captain Wood. “It was an especially motivating loss.”
After such a disheartening loss to Colby, the weekend concluded with a 1-8 loss against 20th-ranked Bowdoin. It was a difficult way to end the season; however, the team put forth a great effort and ultimately, the loss was a result of closely fought matches.
“Overall, I think the weekend was a success. For the first time in I'm not sure how many years, we finished in the top 20. The team is only losing a few seniors, so I expect them to rise even higher in the years to come," Wood concluded.