Hatfield, MA — In the final college squash weekend of the semester for most schools, there continued to be upsets throughout the men’s and women’s rankings.
On Tuesday, the Tufts women visited Mount Holyoke. The Jumbos left Western Mass with an 8-1 victory over the Lyons.
Many teams travel by buses or vans to away matches, but the 6th-ranked Penn men had the option to walk to their away match with 9th-ranked Drexel. In their sixth overall meeting since Drexel went varsity in 2011-2012, the Dragons defeated Penn, 5-4, for their first victory in the series. Also on Wednesday, the Rochester men opened the season with a 9-0 victory over Dartmouth.
The Princeton women hosted Drexel on Thursday night. The Tigers blanked their guests.
Friday began a busy three days for college squash. In Maine, Bates hosted and defeated both Bowdoin squads. Drexel journeyed to Vermont to face Middlebury. They won the women’s match 6-3 and the men’s match 9-0. In Hartford, Columbia visited Trinity. The Lions’ men were hoping to capitalize on the absence of Trinity head coach Paul Assiante, who is with the US Women’s National Team at the WSF Women’s World Team Championships in France. Trinity did not miss a beat and defeated Columbia, 9-0. In the women’s match, the Trinity women improved their record to 4-0 with an 8-1 victory over the Lions. In their first home match of the season, the Virginia women hosted George Washington. The Cavaliers, an unranked club squad, earned a 5-4 victory over the 12th-ranked Colonials. When club teams are eligible to enter the rankings in late January, Virginia looks to be in the hunt for a high Kurtz Cup (B Division) seeding. In the men’s match, George Washington defeated Virginia, 6-3.
On Saturday, Dartmouth hosted Trinity. The Dartmouth men fell 0-9, while the Big Green women lost 2-7. Farther north, Navy topped Middlebury, 7-2.
The Amherst men opened their season with a 9-0 victory over Brandeis. Drexel concluded their New England road trip with a stop at Williams. The Drexel men shutout the Ephs. The women’s match was not decided until the final flight of matches, which Williams swept for a 7-2 victory over the Dragons. The Williams men concluded the day with an 8-1 victory over Hobart.
In Connecticut, Wellesley visited and defeated Conn College, 8-1. The Camels also hosted Northeastern. The Conn men earned an 8-1 victory, while the women beat the Huskies, 6-3. The Yale men and women both shutout Franklin & Marshall. At Wesleyan’s round robin, Bates defeated the Wesleyan men, 8-1, and women, 6-3. The Bates women also defeated William Smith. The 23rd-ranked Colby women had their third 4-5 loss of the season, falling to 26th-ranked William Smith. The Wesleyan women edged William Smith, 5-4. The Dickinson men and women each defeated Colby by a score of 7-2.
Fordham went 2-1 at its own round robin. The Rams defeated Boston University, 8-1, and Colgate, 6-3, but lost to Lehigh, 4-5. Also in New York state, Hamilton hosted Tufts and St. Lawrence. The 21st-ranked Tufts women had a great day with a pair of 6-3 victories over 19th-ranked St. Lawrence and 20th-ranked Hamilton. St. Lawrence defeated Hamilton, 6-3. In the men’s matches, Hamilton defeated Tufts, 6-3. Both Tufts and Hamilton defeated NYU. The St. Lawrence men hosted and defeated Princeton, 8-1. Rochester topped Penn, 7-2.
In Pennsylvania, the Haverford men had their home opener with Swarthmore. The Fords enter the semester break with a 4-1 record after defeating the Phoenix, 8-1.
On Sunday, Columbia hosted George Washington. After losing 1-8 to Columbia, the Colonial women take a four-match losing streak into the semester break. The Columbia men shutout George Washington.
In New Hampshire, both Dartmouth squads defeated Franklin & Marshall, 8-1. In a late afternoon match, the Dartmouth men defeated Navy, 7-2.
Trinity hosted NESCAC opponent Colby. In the women’s match, Trinity shutout the Mules, while the Bantam men won 7-2. At Wesleyan, Bates defeated the Dickinson men and women. The 27th-ranked Dickinson men defeated 19th-ranked Wesleyan, 7-2. The 24th-ranked Wesleyan women fell to 25th-ranked Dickinson, 2-7.
In New York, the St. Lawrence and Rochester men swapped opponents from Saturday. Rochester defeated Princeton, 8-1. Sixth-ranked Penn and 4th-ranked St. Lawrence were tied at 4-4 with the #1s tied at 2-2. Penn captured the match, 5-4. At Vassar, the Tufts men had 8-1 victories over both Vassar and Bard. The Bard men defeated Vassar, 7-2. The Tufts women edged Vassar, 5-4.
The Princeton women visited Western Massachusetts on Sunday. The Tigers were 8-1 victors over both Middlebury and Williams. The Williams men defeated MIT, 9-0, and the Ephs’ women defeated Wellesley, 9-0.
In club-vs.-club team action, the Boston College men defeated Northeastern. The Lehigh men defeated Colgate. The Northeastern women defeated Boston College.
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. 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.
