The women's squash team finished 20th nationally at the College Squash Association National Team Championships last weekend at Princeton University. The team went 1-2 in the C Division to finish its season with a record of 7-16.
The Polar Bears quickly dispatched Colby 8-1 for the third time this season in their opening match on Friday before falling to the eventual C division champion Franklin and Marshall 7-2 on Saturday. Lauren Gesswein '11 and Lizzy Warner '12 earned the two points in the decisive defeat.
In the heartbreaking 19th-place match, the Polar Bears battled valiantly against Wesleyan hoping to avenge their 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Cardinals last year at Nationals. The team fought Wesleyan to a 4-4 stalemate before they finally fell in a five-set thriller between Elizabeth Schetman '13 and Wesleyan's Tanesha Jackson. In a close match, Jackson clinched victory by the small margin of 10-12 in the final set. Gesswein, Monica Wlodarcyzk '13, Alexandra Peacock-Villada '11 and Michaela Martin '14 all earned the Polar Bears points in the hard-fought defeat.
"The Wesleyan match was close—painfully close—and at the end it really could have gone either way, it almost felt like luck of the draw at that point," Schetman said. "Overall, we did exactly as we were expected to given the rankings, but...it felt good to end the season knowing that we've come so far in terms of improvement. With so many recruits coming in next year, we're going to be a much more competitive team."
Louisa Cannell '13 echoed Schetman's satisfaction and optimism.
"Although we lost to Wesleyan in the end, our score was much better...We had the Wesleyan team worried," she said. "It makes us all very excited for next year as well because we have some really great girls coming on to the team."
Gesswein carded a perfect weekend, winning all three of her matches in the No. 1 one position, bringing her record to 17-6. Selections for the Individual Nationals at Trinity in Hartford will be announced in the coming days.
While the women's season is over, the men take the court at the Team National Championships at Harvard University today. Seeded third in the C division and ranked 19th in the country, they will face off against Colby at 11 a.m., hoping to repeat their 7-2 victory over the rival Mules earlier this season. They come into the championships having won seven of their last ten matches and with an overall season record of 10-11.