Wesleyan senior captain Casey Simchik reports on her team’s matches in the Harvard Round Robin, which was held on November 21st – 22nd.
Cambridge, MA — This weekend was a big moment for Wesleyan women’s squash.
I know there is some validity behind the desire to start the season off with a win under your belt, but I personally think that facing Bates College was an important opener to our season. Caroline Fox ’12 at the 7th position won her match 3-1 to make the final score an 8-1 loss to Bates. Although we did not win the match, we were victorious in so many other ways. Wesleyan was in every match and each player stepped up to the challenge of the higher-ranked Bates team. The score was not indicative of the competitiveness of the match. It is very important that the team does not get caught up in the outcome, but rather evaluates the match based on what was accomplished.
Being challenged by tough competition is a great way to learn what is expected of you. We played hard and each match was a close battle, which only served to prove that Bates is certainly within our reach and we look forward to facing them again later in the season. This match was a good introduction for our first-year players into college squash. The three first-year players in the starting lineup stepped up to the challenge this weekend and got a glimpse of what college squash is like. They each had impressive performances and we are proud to have them on our team. The whole team emerged from the match understanding the type of competition we can anticipate for the season ahead as well as realizing that we have the potential to advance beyond last year’s results.
Our second match on Saturday was against Northeastern University. Each player stepped on court ready to compete and, with our merciless desire to win, we emerged with a 7-2 win for Wesleyan as three new players earned their first win for Wesleyan squash (Grace Zimmerman ’13 at number 2, Tanesha Jackson ’13 at number 3, and Anika Fischer at number 9). This dominating win propelled the team into our Sunday morning 9-0 victory over Wellesley College.
This season is off to a great start, with five new players on the team along with 7 returning players. This is going to be a very strong season for Wesleyan women’s squash.
As a senior I have watched this team grow over the past four years under the guidance of our head coach Shona Kerr and assistant coach Patti Klecha-Porter and I am proud to be the captain of this team and am excited to continue to watch the team develop.
This weekend was a very successful one for Wesleyan women’s squash in many aspects. We hope to maintain the momentum we gained this weekend into and beyond the Wesleyan Round Robin, scheduled for December 4th – 6th.
