Hatfield, MA — An eventful week in college squash included more upsets throughout the rankings.
The Yale women visited Western Massachusetts on Monday to face Amherst and Mount Holyoke. The Bulldogs returned to Connecticut with a pair of 9-0 victories. Further north, Hamilton faced Middlebury. The Panthers defended their home courts and blanked the Continentals. The Princeton men hosted and lost to top-ranked Trinity.
Last year, Rochester and Yale met for the men’s national championship, and the Bulldogs prevailed, 5-4, on their home courts. On Tuesday, the rematch occurred at Yale. The 3rd-ranked Yellowjackets earned an 8-1 victory over 2nd-ranked Yale.
On Wednesday, Amherst hosted Middlebury. The Panther men shutout Amherst, while the Middlebury women won, 7-2. Wesleyan travelled to Bowdoin, and the teams traded matches. The 28th-ranked Bowdoin men defeated 23rd-ranked Wesleyan, 5-4, while the 24th-ranked Wesleyan women edged the 18th-ranked Polar Bears, 5-4. Stanford welcomed Franklin & Marshall to California. In the men’s match, F&M shutout Stanford, while in the women’s match, Stanford prevailed, 9-0.
After their successful trip to Yale on Tuesday, 3rd-ranked Rochester visited 5th-ranked Columbia on Thursday. With the match tied at 4-4 and the final individual match going into tie-breakers in the fifth game, Columbia earned the upset, 5-4. Also on Thursday, Middlebury blanked Hobart.
Friday saw a number of matches at Wesleyan. Tufts traded matches with their hosts. The Wesleyan men won, 6-3, while the Tufts women won, 7-2. Both the men’s and women’s teams from Wesleyan and Tufts were victorious over Haverford.
In Maine, the Colby men defeated Hobart 5-4. Both Bowdoin squads prevailed over Hamilton. In Boston, MIT defeated neighboring Northeastern and Boston College.
Back from their trip to the West Coast, F&M hosted Williams. The teams traded matches with the F&M men winning, 7-2, and the Williams women winning, 8-1.
Saturday was senior day at Bates. Both Bobcat squads defeated NESCAC opponent Hamilton. The Bates men also added a victory against Hobart.
In Lancaster, PA, Franklin & Marshall hosted Middlebury and Dickinson. The Diplomat men and women defeated Dickinson. The F&M men earned a 5-4 victory over Middlebury. The 15th-ranked Middlebury women defeated 13th-ranked F&M, 6-3. Both Middlebury squads defeated Dickinson.
Williams continued its trip through the Mid Atlantic states with a stop in Washington, DC, to face George Washington. In a matchup between the 11th-ranked Williams women and 12th-ranked George Washington, Williams prevailed, 5-4. In the men’s match, GW earned a 7-2 victory.
Haverford stopped in Boston for the MIT round robin. The Ford women lost to Northeastern, but in the men’s match, Haverford blanked the Huskies. MIT defeated the Haverford men, 7-2.
At Yale, Mount Holyoke faced Conn College and St. Lawrence. The Lyons lost to Conn College, 4-5, and St. Lawrence, 0-9. Both St. Lawrence squads shutout Conn College. In Middletown, CT, the 24th-ranked Colby men defeated 23rd-ranked Wesleyan, 6-3. The Wesleyan women defeated the Mules, 5-4.
In Ivy League play, Columbia hosted and defeated both Brown squads. Yale visited Cornell and defeated both teams, 8-1. Dartmouth visited Princeton. In the women’s match, the Tigers shutout the Big Green. In the men’s match, the 11th-ranked Tigers, who are facing numerous injuries, came up just short against 9th-ranked Dartmouth, losing 4-5. This marked the Big Green’s second victory against Princeton since Ivy League play began in 1955 – 1956. In a rematch of last season’s women’s national championship match, Penn hosted Harvard. In last season’s final, Harvard won 5-4. In this meeting, the Crimson prevailed 7-2. The Harvard men won, 8-1.
On Sunday, MIT defeated Northwestern. The victory gave head coach Thierry Lincou his 40th coaching victory with the Engineers. Also at MIT, the Haverford men were 7-2 victors over Northwestern.
In Connecticut, Colby defeated both Conn College squads. St. Lawrence defeated Colby. In the men’s match, the Saints won 8-1, while in the women’s match Saint Lawrence prevailed 5-4.
Amherst hosted and shutout Northeastern. Hobart’s last stop in Maine was at Bowdoin. The 27th-ranked Statesman were 5-4 victors over 28th-ranked Bowdoin.
Trinity visited Franklin & Marshall. Both Bantam squads won in shutouts.
Williams’ roadtrip concluded at the Naval Academy. The Midshipmen men were too much for their guests, earning a 7-2 victory. The Williams women faced Virginia and were also 7-2 winners.
In a busy Sunday for the Ivy League, Cornell hosted and defeated both Brown squads. The 5th-ranked Columbia men earned their second top-3 victory of the week, defeating 2nd-ranked Yale, 7-2. The Yale women defeated Columbia, 7-2. Harvard visited Princeton. Both Crimson squads defeated Princeton, 8-1. The Penn squads were 8-1 victors over both Dartmouth teams.
In club-vs.-club team action, the Northwestern men defeated Northeastern. The Boston College men defeated Northwestern.
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.
