Hatfield, MA — As the college squash season enters the home stretch, three league championships were decided this week.
The week opened on Monday when Tufts hosted Boston College. The Jumbos defeated the BC men, 7-2, and the BC women, 9-0.
On Tuesday, Williams visited Brown. The Bears defeated both Williams squads.
Wednesday had two matches, both encounters between local schools. Amherst hosted and shutout Mount Holyoke. The Hamilton women bested William Smith, 9-0.
Franklin & Marshall visited Dickinson on Friday night. Both Diplomats squads shutout their hosts.
The NESCAC Championships began on Friday. In the first round of women’s matches, Bates topped Tufts, 8-1; Colby defeated Wesleyan, 8-1; and Hamilton shutout Conn College. In the men’s draw, Amherst advanced over Tufts, 8-1, and Wesleyan defeated Conn College, 9-0. In the match of the evening, the Bowdoin men prevailed over Hamilton, 5-4.
On Saturday, Drexel hosted George Washington. The Dragon men defeated George Washington, 8-1. In the women’s match, 14th-ranked George Washington edged 9th-ranked Drexel, 5-4.
Columbia hosted Harvard. Harvard proved too much for their hosts. In the men’s match, the 7th-ranked Crimson men topped 8th-ranked Columbia, 5-4. The Columbia women were shutout by the Crimson. In upstate New York, the Cornell men fell just short of upsetting 5th-ranked Dartmouth. The Big Red men fell by a 4-5 score. The Cornell women earned an 8-1 victory over the Big Green. Penn hosted and defeated both Brown teams. Princeton and Yale traded matches. The Yale men and Princeton women each won, 7-2.
Fordham hosted and lost to Bucknell, 3-6, and NYU, 1-8. Navy defeated Richmond on senior day.
Dickinson hosted a number of squads on Saturday. The host Red Devils shutout all competitors. The Dickinson men defeated Haverford and Johns Hopkins, while the women were victorious over Haverford, Johns Hopkins, and Rochester. The Haverford men lost to Johns Hopkins, 4-5. The Haverford women defeated Johns Hopkins and Rochester.
Vassar hosted the Seven Sister Championship. Wellesley earned their third consecutive crown by topping Mount Holyoke, 9-0, Vassar, 9-0, and Smith, 9-0. Mount Holyoke finished second with a 5-4 victory over Vassar and a 9-0 win against Smith. Vassar topped Smith to finish third.
The Liberty League Men’s Championship began on Saturday at St. Lawrence. Rochester and St. Lawrence were undefeated on the day. Rochester topped Bard and Hobart, while St. Lawrence shutout Hobart and Vassar. Bard earned a 8-1 victory over Vassar, which marked the Raptors’ first-ever victory in the Liberty League Championship. It is also Bard’s 9th victory of the season, topping the program record and exceeding the team’s win total from the past three seasons combined.
At the women’s quarterfinals of the NESCAC Championships, Amherst defeated Bowdoin, 6-3; Middlebury defeated Hamilton , 8-1; Trinity defeated Colby, 8-1; and Williams defeated Bates, 8-1. In the semifinals, Trinity defeated Amherst, 7-2, to advance to their 10th final in the tournament’s ten year history. In the other semifinal, Williams defeated MIddlebury, 8-1. In the consolation matches, 25th-ranked Tufts surprised many. They went 2-0 on the day with victories over Wesleyan, 5-4, and Conn College, 8-1. Wesleyan also defeated Conn College, 5-4. Bowdoin edged Colby, 5-4, while Bates defeated Hamilton, 6-3.
In the men’s draw of the NESCAC Championships, the quarterfinals held true to the seedings. Bates defeated Wesleyan, 9-0; Middlebury defeated Bowdoin, 8-1; Trinity topped Amherst, 8-1; and Williams shutout Colby. In the semifinals, Trinity defeated Williams to return to the NESCAC finals. Bates, ranked 17th in the country, upset 14th-ranked Middlebury, 6-3, to advance to their first NESCAC final. In the consolation matches, Colby defeated Amherst, 6-3, and Wesleyan defeated Bowdoin, 6-3. In the round robin consolation matches, 28th-ranked Hamilton defeated 29th-ranked Conn College, 6-3, and 27th-ranked Tufts, 5-4. Conn College defeated Tufts, 5-4.
On Sunday, Cornell hosted Harvard. The Harvard men defeated Cornell, 8-1, while the Crimson women earned an 8-1 victory. The Cornell women picked up a victory against William Smith in an afternoon match. The Princeton men defeated Brown, 7-2. The Brown women fell to Princeton, 0-9. Penn hosted Yale. The 4th-ranked Yale men defeated 2nd-ranked Penn, 6-3. In the women’s match, Penn earned a 9-0 victory over the Bulldogs. Dartmouth travelled to New York to face Columbia. The 8th-ranked Lions took the men’s match, 5-4, over 5th-ranked Dartmouth. The Columbia women defeated Dartmouth, 8-1.
At the Liberty League Men’s Championship, Rochester and St. Lawrence met to decide the title. St. Lawrence captured the match, 5-4, to earn their third league title in a row and their fifth overall. Hobart went 2-0 with victories over Bard and Vassar to finish 3rd. Bard’s Saturday victory over the Brewers resulted in the Raptors’ fourth place finish.
The women’s NESCAC Championship, Trinity and Williams met in the finals. The Bantams defeated Williams, 9-0, for the league title. In the consolation matches, Colby defeated Hamilton, 7-2; Bates defeated Bowdoin, 6-3; and Middlebury defeated Amherst, 6-3. The final NESCAC Women’s Championship standings are as follows: 1. Trinity; 2. Williams; 3. Middlebury; 4. Amherst; 5. Bates; 6. Bowdoin; 7. Colby; 8. Hamilton; 9. Tufts; 10. Wesleyan; and 11. Conn College.
In the men’s NESCAC Championship, Trinity defeated Bates, 7-2, to claim their tenth NESCAC title. In the consolation matches, Amherst defeated Bowdoin, 6-3; Wesleyan defeated Colby, 5-4; and Middlebury defeated Williams, 5-4. The final NESCAC Men’s Championship standings are as follows: 1. Trinity; 2. Bates; 3. Middlebury; 4. Williams; 5. Wesleyan; 6. Colby; 7. Amherst; 8. Bowdoin; 9. Hamilton; 10. Conn College; and 11. Tufts.
In club vs. club men’s matches, Washington defeated Oregon (twice); Lehigh defeated Swarthmore, 8-1; Chicago defeated Vanderbilt, 7-0; Colgate defeated Siena, 7-0; Colgate defeated Vermont, 7-0; Chicago defeated Northwestern, 6-2; Northwestern defeated Notre Dame, 8-0; Northwestern defeated Vanderbilt, 7-0; Chicago defeated Washington in St. Louis, 9-0; and Northwestern defeated Washington in St. Louis, 7-1.
In club vs. club women’s matches, Fordham defeated NYU; Bucknell defeated Fordham, 9-0; Virginia defeated Georgetown, 9-0; and Georgetown defeated Johns Hopkins, 5-2.
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. 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.
