Hatfield, MA — It as an eventful week of squash, with the majority of college matches occurring at the Pioneer Valley Invitational.
On Monday, Trinity hosted Cornell. Both Bantam squads earned 8-1 victories against Cornell. The victory was especially meaningful to Paul Assaiante, the men’s coach for Trinity, as it marked his 500th collegiate squash coaching victory. In addition to coaching at Trinity, Assaiante previously coached at Army and Williams.
On Tuesday, Middlebury had its home opener when it hosted Amherst. The Panthers men and women each earned 8-1 victories.
Mount Holyoke travelled to Maine for two days’ worth of matches with Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby. The Lyons went 0-3 on the trip.
Columbia welcomed Trinity on Wednesday. The Bantams’ men and women were imposing guests and left the Big Apple with 9-0 victories.
Middlebury hosted St. Lawrence. In the women’s match, Middlebury prevailed, 8-1, but fell 1-8 to the St. Lawrence men.
In a matchup of Mid-Atlantic rivals, George Washington visited the Naval Academy. Tied at 4-4, George Washington battled back from an 0-2 deficit in the final match for a 5-4 team victory.
Navy headed north for a Friday match with Williams. After 8 matches, the Midshipmen had enough wins to claim victory. In the end, Navy defeated Williams, 5-4.
Cornell hosted Columbia in an Ivy League match. For the second year in a row, the Columbia men defeated the Big Red, 7-2. The 8th-ranked Columbia women were also victorious, 5-4, which marked the Lions’ first victory over the 7th-ranked Big Red.
At the Pioneer Valley Invitational, tri-hosts Amherst, Mount Holyoke, and Smith College had fifteen other schools participate in a 50-match round robin event. Play started on Friday with Amherst hosting and losing to the Yale women, 0-9. Yale also defeated the Hamilton women, 9-0. The Amherst men and women each defeated Hamilton, 7-2. MIT went 2-0 on Friday with victories over Conn College, 8-1, and Stanford, 5-4. In their opening matches, the Wesleyan Cardinals defeated the Stanford Cardinal men, 9-0, and the Mount Holyoke Lyons, 7-2. Later in the day, the Wesleyan men defeated Colby, 5-4, and the Cardinals women lost to the Mules, 2-7. Conn College earned victories over the Haverford men, 5-4, and the Haverford women, 8-1. The Conn College women also defeated Smith. The Colby men defeated Western Ontario, 6-3, while the Mules’ women shutout Smith College.
In the evening match at Amherst, Dickinson played Hobart and William Smith. The 24th-ranked Hobart men earned an 8-1 victory over the 25th-ranked Red Devils. In the women’s match, William Smith prevailed, 6-3.
On Saturday, Drexel visited Dartmouth. In the men’s match, the Big Green defeated Drexel, 6-3. In the women’s match, 12th-ranked Drexel edged 9th-ranked Dartmouth, 5-4. Although this is only their second meeting, this was the Drexel women’s first-ever victory over the Big Green.
To close out their short home schedule, Middlebury hosted Brown. The Brown women defeated the Panthers, 6-3. The 16th-ranked Middlebury men edged 15th-ranked Brown, 5-4.
In Philadelphia, the 2nd-ranked Penn Quakers shutout the Stanford women.
The Yale men began a road trip in upstate New York on Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated St. Lawrence, 6-3. Also in upstate New York, the Rochester men topped Columbia, 9-0.
In Hartford, both Trinity squads shutout Franklin & Marshall.
George Washington began their day at Williams. The Colonial men defeated Williams, 6-3. The 13th-ranked Williams women surprised 10th-ranked George Washington, 6-3.
The Pioneer Valley Invitational continued on Saturday. In an early matchup, 8 AM, MIT and Mount Holyoke faced Dickinson. MIT was a 7-2 victor over Dickinson, while Mount Holyoke fell, 3-6, to the Red Devils. MIT added a victory over Haverford to conclude their PVI trip with a 4-0 record. Hamilton and Colby traded matches. The Hamilton women won, 6-3, while the Colby men won, 7-2. The Hamilton men also lost to Western Ontario, 7-2, but the Continental women defeated Mount Holyoke, 9-0. Western Ontario lost to Bates, 1-8. Hobart earned a pair of victories in back-to-back matches with Stanford and Haverford. William Smith defeated Haverford and Conn College. The Haverford women picked up a victory over Smith. Conn College fell to the Amherst women, 9-0, while the Camel men lost to Stanford, 0-9. Dickinson earned victories over both Conn College squads, including a 5-4 win in the women’s match.
Navy join the Pioneer Valley Invitational on Saturday. The Midshipmen sunk Amherst, 8-1. Amherst and Colby traded matches. The Colby men defeated Amherst, 6-3, while the Amherst women were 9-0 winners over the Mules. In the evening match, George Washington faced Bates. The George Washington women won 7-2. The men’s match was tight, and ultimately George Washington emerged with a 5-4 victory over the Bobcats.
On Sunday, the Columbia women hosted and lost to Stanford, 2-7.
Williams hosted Franklin & Marshall and Middlebury. The 15th-ranked Diplomat women defeated 14th-ranked MIddlebury, 7-2. The F&M men defeated the Panthers, 7-2. Williams edged the F&M women, 5-4, but fell to the Diplomat men, 6-3.
The Yale men concluded their northern New York trip with a stop at Rochester. With the 2nd-ranked Bulldogs on the brink, 4-3, the host and 7th-ranked Yellowjackets won the final two matches to earn a 5-4 victory.
On the final day of the Pioneer Valley Invitational, George Washington faced the Wesleyan women and the Western Ontario men. The Colonials were victorious in both matches. Mount Holyoke earned a 9-0 victory over Haverford to conclude their weekend. Hobart and William Smith faced Colby. Colby coach Sakhi Khan led the Mules to a 6-3 victory over Hobart, a team that his son plays for. The Mules also defeated William Smith, 9-0. William Smith shutout Smith in their final match of the tournament.
Navy concluded their weekend with a match with Bates. The Midshipmen’s depth helped them capture positions 5 through 9 and a 5-4 victory. In 5-4 matches, Navy went 2-1 on the week. Amherst defeated both Dickinson squads. In addition, the Amherst women defeated Bates, 7-2, while the Bobcat men earned an 8-1 victory over Amherst.
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.
