The Men’s and Women’s Red Devil squash teams turned in strong performances this week, pushing past dual losses against Franklin & Marshall on Friday to come out on top Saturday in the Dickinson Winter Round Robin Tournament. The stands were full at the Kline Center to watch the men defeat Johns Hopkins University and Haverford College on their home courts, while the women swept the two aforementioned schools, as well as the University of Rochester.
Abdelrahman Esergany ’19 opened the day with a win in the top flight and the Red Devils didn’t let up from there, sweeping the next six flights with strong performances from Brian Hamilton ’19 in the second flight and Cory Litman ’19 in the fourth. Against Haverford, fellow first-year Hal Holappa decisively claimed the third flight with scores of 11-5, 11-1, and 11,0, while Andrew Strudwick ’19 kept his opponent to just seven points in the fifth flight. The men are currently ranked 26th in the league.
For the women’s team Freddie Bancroft ’18 was a standout in the number nine flight, holding her opponent to a mere four points, while Meaghan Dashcund ’18 allowed just three points in the last two sets of the seventh flight against Johns Hopkins. Hedvika Suchankova ’19 came out on top in her matches against Johns Hopkins and Haverford, and Stuart Lemay ’18 defeated Rochester decisively in the number one spot with scores of 11-3, 11-3, and 11-3. First-year Abby Wingerd had a stellar day, claiming three wins and holding her Haverford opponent to just nine points, and helped the women’s team to hold their #24 ranking.
In their final regular season match of the season against Drexel Monday night, both the men and women struggled to find a rhythm against the #9 team in the country.
The women fell 8-1 as the visiting team swept the top eight sets in decisive fashion. Only Bancroft was able to come away with a point as Drexel defaulted without a player.
Hamilton played decently in the top flight for the men’s side, losing in three sets but tallying eight points in the first and third contests. Litman and Strudwick also played well but ultimately could not compete against their skilled opponents. The team fell in straight sets 9-0 as no one else could gain much traction.
Following Monday both teams now look forward to competing in the College Squash Association Team Championships at Yale Univeristy from Feb. 19-21. Overall the team has improved remarkably from last year thanks to a great senior class and look to make further headlines on the national scene once they head to Connecticut. The individual championships will take place from March 4-6.
The men’s team currently stands at 12-8 overall and #26 nationally. The women’s team is 9-7 overall and #24 nationally.