The women's squash team picked up the second half of the season where they left off the first, winning against the divisional opponents they expect to defeat, while falling to the powerhouse teams that the Jumbos are not expected to beat.
The Jumbos ended the first half of the season on a low note. After streaking to a 5-0 start, Tufts lost the last three matches going into the semester break.
"We cannot be very competitive with the top 10 teams right now," Eng said. "But we can learn from all the matches."
Even prior to the season, Eng was able to pick the matches his team would win and those it would lose. There were only a couple of contests that could go either way, and these are the matches that will determine exactly what sort of season this will be for the Jumbos. The Amherst match on Thursday, Dec. 7 was one of those telling matches. According to the Women's Intercollegiate Squash Association (WISA) rankings as of Dec. 4, the Lord Jeffs and the Jumbos shared the 12th ranking.
However, Tufts came into this crucial match with a depleted squad. Due to the graduate school responsibilities of its number two player, Zaina Al-Awadi and injuries incurred during the course of the season to other members of the squad, the Jumbos were not able to perform at their potential and lost this very close team contest, four matches to five. Tufts was able to ride its depth as its six through nine players were able to come through with wins, but its top players could not pick up any victories.
The Jumbos returned to school this semester determined to improve individually and as a team. Freshman Leigh Checchio described the team's experience of returning from the semester break.
"Doug [Eng] had a routine of tough workouts for us to do as soon as we got back to get us back into shape," she said.
As is the case with all winter teams, it is always tough for the squash team to get back into game shape following the month off, but the rigorous team workouts, leadership offered by captains junior Justine Kurland and senior Lani Radford, and collective dedication of the squad have all contributed to make the readjustment back to playing at a peak level, easier.
First off for the Jumbos, following the vacation, was the Wellesley team that Tufts had demolished 8-1 back in November. Unfortunately for the Jumbos though, with junior Anne Montesano leaving the team for the rest of the season, to spend the semester abroad, and senior Kate Peterson resting an injury, the three through nine Jumbo players have each had to move up two spots for the rest of the season. In contrast, the Wellesley squad had added a transfer student from Smith before the game to play in their number two spot and the rest of the roster had thus been shifted down one spot.
However, the Jumbos did not let this stop them from beating the improved Wellesley team. With team scores tied at four matches apiece, sophomore Iffy Saeed, playing in the fifth position, was down 4-7 in the fifth, and final, game of the match when she suddenly rallied to the cheers of her teammates and stormed to a 9-7 victory.
Dartmouth, which holds a national ranking of nine, was next up for the Jumbos. Coming into the match, Tufts new that this was one of those contests that it was not supposed to win and thus, the goal was to try hard and learn from the experience. With a young team on which six of its nine starting players are sophomores or freshman, the focus for these matches according to Checchio is, "to learn how to play the [top-level] players and how they play so that we can do better in the future."
Coach Eng is optimistic that in two years, the team will be able to compete with the best teams in the nation, and is therefore focused on individual and team growth as well as finishing strong this season. Needless to say, the Jumbos dropped eight out of the nine matches in the Dartmouth meeting. One bright spot of this showdown was freshman Julie Fox winning her first official varsity match in the number nine spot against a player on one of the best teams in the nation.
This weekend will be pivotal for the Jumbos. They will travel to Smith college to take on Bates, St. Lawrence and Haverford, all in the same day. Bates and St. Lawrence will be serious tests for the Jumbos. As of the WISA rankings of Feb. 1, the Jumbos hold a national ranking of 15, with Bates and St. Lawrence at 14 and 16 respectively.
This weekend's matches will shape the national rankings for these three rivals. Not only are the Jumbos gearing up for these tough matches, but Eng says of Bates and St. Lawrence, "They're gunning for us."
