Hatfield, MA — In a busy weekend for collegiate squash, upsets continue to be the theme of the season.
Prior to Thanksgiving break, the Tufts men defeated Brandeis, 9-0. In another match-up of neighboring schools, Drexel visited Penn. Penn retained the intercity title by winning both the men’s and women’s matches. The Quaker women won 9-0, while the Penn men pulled out a 5-4 victory.
On Tuesday, a seeming routine match was anything but routine. Harvard visited Dartmouth. The top-ranked Crimson women defeated Dartmouth, 9-0. The men’s match was quite different than expected. The last time Dartmouth defeated the Crimson was during the 1945 – 46 season, when according to the Crimson record book, no formal team existed for Harvard due to World War II. Tied at 4-4, eleventh-ranked Dartmouth won the final match on court in five games to capture the match, 5-4, over the 2nd-ranked Harvard. To paraphrase one Dartmouth alum, “no one beats Dartmouth 74 times in a row.”
Also on Tuesday another thrilling match occurred in Philadelphia. The Princeton men visited Drexel. Tied at 4-4, Drexel captured the final match in four games to earn their first victory over Princeton in program history. The following evening, the Drexel women hosted Princeton. The Tigers defeated their hosts, 9-0.
In Boston on Wednesday, MIT hosted Conn College. The 27th-ranked Engineers cruised to a 9-0 victory over the 25th-ranked Camels. Wellesley faced and defeated the Camels, 7-2.
Dartmouth opened a busy road trip on Thursday at Franklin & Marshall. The Big Green women defeated their hosts, 6-3. The Dartmouth men bested the 9th-ranked Diplomats, 7-2.
Thursday also saw Mount Holyoke take the short road trip to Smith. The Lyons defeated Smith, 9-0.
In Maine on Friday, Bowdoin hosted Bates. The Bates men defeated the Polar Bears, 7-2, while the 18th-ranked Bowdoin women earned a 5-4 victory over the 15th-ranked Bobcats. In Philadelphia, Rochester opened their season with an 8-1 victory over Drexel. A little farther south in Annapolis, MD, Dartmouth picked up a 7-2 win against Navy. Dartmouth also visited George Washington. The Big Green men were victorious by a 6-3 margin over the Colonials. The 10th-ranked Dartmouth women defeated 9th-ranked George Washington, 5-4.
On Saturday, Bates hosted Trinity. The Bantams defeated their hosts 7-2 in the men’s match and 9-0 in the women’s match. Bowdoin traveled to and defeated MIT, 5-4. The Polar Bear women defeated Wellesley, 8-1. Returning to Maine for a night match with Trinity, Bowdoin lost both matches 0-9. In Boston, MIT lost to Amherst, 2-7.
Mount Holyoke and Vassar visited Conn College. The Camel men defeated Vassar, 9-0, while the Conn women were victorious over the Brewers by an 8-1 margin. Mount Holyoke went 2-0 on their road trip with a 6-3 victory over Conn College and a 8-1 victory over Vassar.
In Pennsylvania, Franklin & Marshall hosted Yale. The Bulldogs defeated their hosts. In the men’s match, Yale won 7-2, and in the women’s match, Yale won 8-1. Also in Pennsylvania, both Haverford squads fell to Tufts. The Haverford women prevailed 5-4 over Denison. Dickinson travelled to Haverford for a neutral site match with Tufts. The 29th-ranked Dickinson men won 6-3 against the 25th-ranked Tufts. In the women’s match, 27th-ranked Dickinson bested the 24th-ranked Jumbos, 6-3. Fordham travelled to a round robin at Swarthmore and defeated Boston University, 5-4, and Minnesota, 8-1.
In Clinton, NY, Hamilton hosted Middlebury and Hobart. The Middlebury men went 2-0 on the day, shutting out both Hamilton and Hobart. Hobart prevailed over Hamilton, 7-2. The Hamilton women lost to Middelbury, 3-6.
Drexel visited and defeated Navy, 8-1.
In Connecticut, the Wesleyan women hosted William Smith and Northeastern. The Cardinals went 2-0 on the day. William Smith defeated Northeastern, 7-2.
The Penn men hosted Rochester. The 7th-ranked Quakers surprised many by defeating 4th-ranked Rochester, 6-3.
The Princeton women hosted and shutout Williams and St. Lawrence. Williams also defeated the St. Lawrence women, 9-0. The St. Lawrence women earned a 6-3 victory over Tufts. The Princeton men bested Williams, 8-1. In the final match of the evening, Princeton faced 3rd-ranked St. Lawrence. The Tigers swept the lower third of the matches, but fell to the Saints, 3-6.
After this weekend’s matches, Philadelphia may want to change its nickname to the “Upset Capital.” On Sunday, Drexel hosted Williams. In the women’s match, 13th-ranked Drexel edged the 12th-ranked Ephs, 6-3. In the men’s match, Drexel defeated Williams, 8-1. A few blocks away, St. Lawrence visited Penn. In the women’s match, Penn defeated the Saints. Fresh off Saturday’s victory over 4th-ranked Rochester, the Penn men were looking to edge 3rd-ranked St. Lawrence. After taking a 4-1 lead, St. Lawrence battled back to even the match at 4-4. The Quakers won the final match in five games to defeated St. Lawrence, 5-4. In their second match of the day, Penn defeated both Williams squads, 9-0.
Rochester concluded their road trip with a stop at Princeton. The Yellowjackets returned to winning form with an 8-1 victory over Princeton.
Conn College hosted Tufts. In the battle of teams with exotic mammal mascots, the Tufts women defeated the Camels, 7-2. In the men’s match, the Jumbos defeated Conn College, 8-1.
Hamilton hosted Bard and Colgate. The Continentals shutout both the Raptors and the Raiders. Bard defeated Colgate, 8-1. Bard concludes the first semester with seven victories, one shy of the tying the team’s single season record.
In club-vs.-club team matches, the Minnesota men defeated Swarthmore, 7-2.
Coaches and Team Contacts, please remember to enter your team’s results in the US Squash Scoring System on the day of each match. Each player must be named in the results (“Not on Roster” entries will not be tolerated) or penalties may be applied.
Schools are reminded that to qualify for the National Team Championships, a minimum number of matches must be played at specific periods of the season:
- Varsity teams are required to play ten (10) matches against other CSA teams to enter team championships. At minimum, each team should have at least 6 different opponents. Varsity teams should play the majority of their matches against other varsity schools.
- Club teams are required to play eight (8) matches against other CSA teams to enter team championships. In addition, club teams must play at least four (4) matches between January 1st and February 10th. At minimum, each team should have at least five (5) different opponents.
For a regular season match to officially count for ranking purposes, each team must have at least seven players. Except for Emerging Teams, matches with less than seven players per team will not count towards the required number of matches for entry into the National Team Championships.
For complete results from all of this weekend’s action, see Women’s Results and Men’s Results.