After breezing past their first-round matches 9–0 this past weekend at the annual NESCAC tournament hosted by Trinity College, both the men’s and women’s squash teams faced their closest competition from the regular season in the semifinals. The men faced Williams on Sunday morning, who they had lost 5–4 to just two weeks prior. The women, ranked No. 11, took on No. 3 Amherst, who they topped 5–4 on Jan. 17.
“We lost 5-4 last time we played them, so going into the match we (as a team) wanted it really badly,” No. 1 seed sophomore Nachiket Desai wrote in an email to the Daily. “We knew if we worked hard, ran for every ball, and fought hard, we could do it.”
Despite the odds, the men proved themselves strong enough to claim their revenge, triumphant in a tight 5–4 match against the Ephs. The first win came from No. 2 seed sophomore Aarav Gill in four games over Williams’ Nick Agger. After losing three out of the first four matches, the team clutched up to win four consecutive matches, clinching their spot in the finals. No. 9 seed first-year Ali Tarek, No. 7 seed sophomore Rutva Samant and Desai swept their opponents followed by No. 4 seed junior Jared Chin who battled to pull out a 3–1 win. Chin’s win was extra sweet especially since he had lost 3–0 against the same opponent earlier in the season.
The wins from the women’s side against Amherst came from the middle and bottom of the ladder. No. 8 seed sophomore Chloe Bergam struck first in a four-game win with a crucial 15–13 second game win. Following Bergam, No. 6 seed senior Aleezah Burhan rallied for a three-game win against Amherst’s Ella Miller. After the Jumbos dropped the next two matches, first-year and No. 5 seed Anika Goyal swept her opponent giving the Jumbos a slight lead in the match. After No. 4 senior Riddhi Joshi took her match 3–0, first-year No. 9 seed Indira Moshi clinched a spot for Tufts in the finals with a sweep against Amherst’s Isabelle Tilney-Sandberg.
“We’re extremely happy with the outcome over the weekend. It’s always a confidence boost to start the tournament with 9-0 wins for both teams,” Alex Grayson, assistant coach, wrote in an email to the Daily. “The semi-finals, played at an unpopular time of 9am, were both fiercely contested affairs. Joe and I had a lot to keep track of, with 18 matches across both teams being played in the space of 3 hours. Every member of the squad played an important role in supporting their teammates and making sure the energy was high for the duration of the match. The semi-final celebrations even threw our bus driver off. I think he thought we had won the event and started driving us back to Medford after lunch, only to be reminded of the need to turn around and head back for the final at 4pm.”
The few hours the teams had before the finals proved to be a problem, especially since both of the teams had just finished tight matches. “We were so lucky to have our Director of sports medicine, Rick Cox, with us,” Grayson wrote. “He helped us all weekend, and especially with the quick turnaround between matches on Sunday. So, both women's and men's teams put up a good effort in the final. They left every last bit of energy they had on court, and for some of our players, a fair amount of blood as well!”
While the teams were not able to come out on top in the NESCAC tournament, falling to Trinity, they are already set on their goal for the 2025 College Squash Association National Championships of breaking into the top 10 for the end of the season. “We feel so accomplished that we finished a spot above our original CSA seeding at 11 and are entering nationals as so,” senior Nieve Monderer wrote in an email to the Daily. “To be top 10, we will have to beat Drexel or Columbia which is totally doable for us and also defend against Dartmouth. But we will put in some serious preparation these next few weeks to get ready for these battles. It won't be easy but this team is the best it has ever been and it is 100% possible for us to end this year top 10 in the country.”
With the championships taking place in early March, which is later than usual, the team will have plenty of time to prepare and show up when it truly matters. “The gap in between matches lets us focus a little more on increasing strength and stamina now, compared with the training we'd typically do between competitive fixtures to maintain and ensure freshness,” Grayson wrote. “With the right balance of conditioning and in-house matches, we're confident that the next 3 weeks can equip us well for the tough matches that lie ahead in Philadelphia.”
