Both the men's and women's squash teams improved to 2-0 after defeating Tufts University and Connecticut College last weekend at Harvard. The women breezed by both opponents, winning eight of the nine matches against Tufts and five of six to Connecticut (due to a lack of players, Connecticut forfeited three of their matches). After three hours of intense matchplay, the men beat an unexpectedly strong Tufts team six matches to three, and won their Connecticut match 9-0.
Although the loss of five strong team members (two to the field hockey team, two to semesters abroad, and one to a hamstring injury) was nerve-racking for the women, it gave Margaret Fuller '06 the chance to play in some matches and forced the new players to step up for the team.
Molly Dorkey '06 expressed her satisfaction with the events of the day.
"A lot of people pulled through at clutch times, especially the freshmen," she said. "When we're all back at Bowdoin in the winter, we will be a force to be reckoned with."
Captain Niki Clement '06 agreed, saying, "We went in there with a positive attitude, which helped us a lot."
The new players enjoyed their first matches.
"I was really nervous, but once I got on court, the butterflies went away a little and I had a good time," Emma Powers '09 said.
"Just hitting out and concentrating on my rails helped me with my nerves," said fellow first year Alexandra Franceschi.
Although the men were equally satisfied with their victories, their minds are on the future.
"We were pleased with our performance overall against two much improved teams, but we need to keep working if we want to be successful against our top rivals," Captain Nick Adams '06 said.
The first years on the men's team demonstrated their considerable talent in the weekend's matches.
"This weekend was a good start for the freshmen," said Captain Bruce Saltzman '06. "They showed a lot of potential for the upcoming season, and they'll just get better as the season goes on."
This weekend, the men and women's team will split up. The Men will head to a tournament at Yale and the women will face Middlebury, Wellesley, William Smith, Stanford, and Mount Holyoke at Wesleyan.