Both the men’s and women’s squash teams came up short against Middlebury in their quarterfinal rounds at the NESCAC championships held at Trinity in Hartford, Conn. last weekend. The Polar Bears struggled heavily against the Panthers, with the men and women falling 8-1 and 9-0, respectively.

Will Fantini ’13 was the lone Bowdoin player on Saturday to win a match in the NESCAC championship tournament, earning a 3-0 shutout at the No. 3 position. 

“The team battled hard last weekend, but unfortunately we lost a couple of tough ones,” said Fantini. “But with each match our younger players gain more experience.”

After the quarterfinal round, both squads earned bids into the tournament’s consolation bracket. The women dropped a pair of very close matches to Wesleyan, 5-4, and  Hamilton, 6-3. 

Michaela Martin ’14 (No. 4), as well as Monica Wlodarcyzk ’13 (No. 5) and Sara Wlodarcyzk ’15 (No. 6) earned victories in both matches. Rachel Barnes ’15 (No. 2) recorded a victory against Wesleyan.

The men won a 9-0 match against Hamilton and subsequently lost 5-4 to Amherst in their consolation bracket, with captain Andrew Hilboldt ’13 (No. 1), Fantini (No. 3), Andrew Ward ’15 (No. 7), and Alex Reisley ’16 (No. 9) winning hard fought battles against the Lord Jeffs.

After an extensive weekend of play at the NESCAC championships the Polar Bears have set their sights on the tasks ahead. This coming weekend, a handful of players were going to be chosen to compete in the inaugural D-III Squash Individual Championship at Bowdoin. Due to threat of inclement weather, the championship had to be cancelled, with no plans to reschedule as of yet. 
The women’s team will travel to Yale University on February 15 for the College Squash Association team nationals. The men’s team will follow on February 22.
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According to Fantini, both squads are excited to compete and are confident in their abilities. 
“I expect a strong showing from the team at nationals in three weeks,” said Fantini.