The final weekend of college squash play prior to Thanksgiving was highlighted by tight results and several major surprises.
The Stanford women’s team—currently ranked No. 5—captured an impressive early-season upset Saturday over No. 2 Penn, the 2016-2017 intercollegiate team finalists. In the 6-3 win, the Cardinals were boosted by strong performances from the middle of their lineup, winning positions two through seven. Stanford then fell to No. 4 Princeton 6-3 on Sunday. The strong weekend of play from Stanford will likely propel them higher in the rankings, improving on the team’s finish last season at a best-ever ranking of No. 5.
In one of the most hotly contested matches on Sunday, the No. 8-ranked Princeton men fought off a strong challenge on the road against No. 11 George Washington University with a 6-3 victory. Princeton needed wins late in the fifth game at the No. 5, 6, and 8 positions to hold off the potential upset. The surging Dickinson College men’s team, which jumped seven spots in the rankings to No. 15, held off another home team looking for an upset in No. 21 Williams. Dickinson snuck out the win 5-4, bookended by 11-9 in the fifth game wins at the No. 1 and No. 9 positions.
Under new head coach Michael MacDonald, the No. 28-ranked Connecticut College women’s team captured the biggest surprise upset of the weekend with a road victory over No. 15 Bates College. The Camels swept the bottom five positions of the ladder, including a five-game win at No. 6.
College squash teams will take the next week off from competition, but return after Thanksgiving for a torrid several weeks of play to wrap up the first half of the season.
