Squash Rolls Into Trinity Showdown

In their first matches since early December, the Harvard men’s and women’s squash teams rolled to 8-1 and 9-0 victories, respectively, over Williams last Thursday. The women then went on to compete in the Princeton Invitational over the weekend, where several individuals posted impressive wins.

And after last night’s convincing wins over Dartmouth, both squash teams had perfect 4-0 records and are 3-0 in Ivy League competition. The men crushed the Big Green, 8-1, while the women coasted to a 7-2 victory.

With team No. 1 seed Peter Karlen and No. 4 Ziggy Whitman out with injuries, the Harvard men were forced to shuffle their lineup against Williams. The team was able to make the necessary adjustments, winning seven out of eight matches 3-0.

Taking Karlen’s spot in the No. 1 position was sophomore James Bullock, who defeated Parth Doshi 9-7, 9-7, 9-7.

“He dismantled his opponent,” co-captain David Barry said. “He played very well, very efficiently. It was pretty to watch.”

Also of note was freshman Michael Blumberg’s victory in the No. 3 spot. Blumberg handily disposed of his opponent, 9-3, 9-0, 9-1.

Junior Dylan Patterson, playing in the No. 2 spot, had the lone Crimson loss of the day, falling in four games.

As the first competition after exam period, the Williams match is key to judging the team’s readiness for the rest of the season. With the 8-1 victory, the Crimson was confident entering competition against Dartmouth yesterday.

Last night’s win gave the team needed momentum before its showdown with No. 1 Trinity on Saturday. Both Karlen and Whitman are expected to play against the Bantams, providing the Harvard men with a full squad in this weekend’s showdown.

On the women’s side, Harvard trounced a weaker Williams team 27-0 last Thursday.

“Williams was full of fighters, but we were better prepared going into it,” co-captain Colby Hall said.

The Crimson faced much tougher competition when it traveled to the Princeton Invitational for an individual tournament last weekend. The women started slowly, but their play improved as the tourney drew to a close.

“We were all tentative and unsure how to start real competition again,” Hall said. “Friday’s matches were disappointing, but as the tournament went on, everyone improved, including all the freshmen.”

Harvard No. 1 Louisa Hall finished third in the competition, beating the No. 1 players from Yale and Penn. Co-captain Margaret Elias, who plays in the third spot for the Crimson, defeated Cornell No. 1 Olga Puigdeont Sola to finish fifth overall.

The tournament also featured several intra-squad match-ups for the Crimson, with No. 3 Elias defeating No. 2 Lindsey Wilkins and No. 6 Stephanie Hendricks beating No. 9 Kristin Wadhwa in close matches.

“The weekend at Princeton was a time when we gelled as a team,” Elias said. “We were rusty, but it was clear at the close of the tournament that everyone was physically strong at the end of a long weekend.”

Always mindful of its rivalry with Trinity, much of the Crimson’s time was spent observing the Bantams’ matches in anticipation for the Saturday matchup.

“Both teams were sitting there secretly scoping each other out,” Hall said.

In a big match-up against a Bantam opponent, freshman Neeta Lal, who played at the No. 10 spot for the Crimson, defeated Trinity No. 8 Meridy Vollmer.

“We’re excited for the weekend, and there’s a lot of anticipation,” Elias said. “The intensity is up, and it’s really exciting.”