Courtsey of Brian Beard

Both the men’s (7–4; 3–3 NESCAC) and women’s (7–3; 3–3 NESCAC) squash teams have kicked off their seasons with impressive starts, currently ranking 22nd and 18th in the nation, respectively. The Polar Bears have started this season with a new coach but a familiar face, as Brendan McClintick, who previously served as assistant coach, took the reins as head coach last May.

With over half of their matches finished, senior men’s captain Jack Winston ’25 expressed that part of the Polar Bears’ success can be attributed to a strong preseason.

“In the past years, we’ve had slower starts because we weren’t as prepped, so Nick [Wilkinson ’25], the other captain and I, really emphasized a lot of team strengthening this fall and team bonding,” Winston said.

The men opened their season with a close 4–5 loss to the United States Naval Academy (13–6).

Will Maschler ’28 expressed that even though the Polar Bears lost, the competition had many positive outcomes.

“As my first collegiate match ever, Navy was my most memorable match so far. I was playing number six against Navy and wound up beating him in the fifth game, so it was super close. It was an awesome moment, and we wanted to win collectively, so it was an amazing energy overall and an awesome introduction to my next four years,” Maschler said.

Following its loss to Navy, the men’s team went on to defeat Brown University (Club) 8–1, Dickinson College (3–12; 0–0 CC) 8–1, Connecticut College (5–8; 1–5 NESCAC) 8–1 and Wesleyan University (7–3; 1–1 NESCAC) 9–0 until they were bested by Amherst College (8–3; 4–1 NESCAC) 4–5.

The next week, the men’s team traveled to upstate New York, defeating Hobart & William Smith Colleges (1–9) 8–1 and St. Lawrence University (3–5) 7–2.

On the other hand, the women’s team started undefeated, beating Brown University (Club) 9–0, Dickinson College (7–8) 6–3, Connecticut College (3–9; 0–6 NESCAC) 9–0, and Wesleyan University (8–1; 1–1 NESCAC) 8–1, but lost to Amherst College (8–4; 4–1 NESCAC) 1–8.

Clare Collins ’27 emphasized how the collective energy and community helped not only her own performance but also the team’s.

“The energy is unmatched.… It’s a great community, and we go into matches ready to cheer each other on, and I know when I step on court I have everyone’s support,” Collins said.

The women bounced back, shutting out both William Smith College (0–8) 9–0 and St. Lawrence University (2–2) 8–0.

Coming off a set of wins, the men’s and women’s teams opened last weekend’s three-matchup stretch with both teams winning 8–1 against Hamilton College (Men: 1–7; 0–0 NESCAC, Women: 3–6; 0–0 NESCAC).

After starting the weekend off strong, both teams then fell to Middlebury College (Men: 8–4; 4–3 NESCAC, Women: 9–3; 5–2 NESCAC), with the men losing 2–7 and the women losing 1–8.

Despite the loss, McClintick expressed the closeness of the matches and highlighted how five out of the nine scoring matches for the women went to a five-game series.

“It’s a great testament to our women to push in the fifth for five games. The men’s team too was right there again. We had a couple fifth games against Middlebury that just didn’t fall our way this time,” McClintick said.

The following day, the Polar Bears both lost to Williams College (Men: 9–3; 5–0 NESCAC, Women: 7–5; 5–0 NESCAC). The men lost 2–7 and the women lost 3–6.

“I was really proud of the response we saw against Williams. We know that we can beat teams of that quality, and the teams really came back against Williams and showed that. Although Middlebury might not have been our day, we still [were] going to put our best foot forward against two really strong Williams teams,” McClintick said. “We’re proud of our efforts. We know we could have done better, but we know that the best is still to come.”

This Wednesday, both the men and the women will face off against Bates College (Men: 3–6; 2–4 NESCAC, Women: 3–4; 2–4 NESCAC) at 5:00 p.m. at the Lubin Family Squash Center.

Amelie Matuch ’28 voiced her excitement for the upcoming match against fellow NESCAC and rival Bates and hopes that students will pack the stands.

“I’m really looking forward to playing Bates. We’re playing them at home, and it’s always a pretty good match,” Matuch said. “I want a lot of people to show up, because cheering is really one of our best support systems.”