Perfect weekend marred by midweek defeat to Wellesley

Tufts started the spring portion of its season on a strong note, taking down William Smith College 5-4 and Mount Holyoke 6-3. The pair of wins gave the Jumbos a four-match win streak carried over from the fall semester. The streak came to an end Wednesday night, however, with an 8-1 loss at the hands of No. 22 Wellesley, bringing Tufts overall record to 6-5 on the season.

Wellesley's victory over No. 24 Tufts at MIT brought the former's record to 8-4 on the season. First-year Sahana Karthiks was the lone Tufts player in a point-scoring position to win her match, defeating Wellesley senior Kate Loftus 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 in the seventh position. Fellow first-year Lily Hayes, competing in the 10th position, defeated Wellesley Blue sophomore Meredith Curry 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, though the win did not score for the Jumbos.

Two of the match-ups that Tufts lost were close battles that went to five sets - both of which could have turned the momentum in Tufts favor. First-years Hannah Burns and Zarena Jafry both fought their way to a fifth set but were unable to beat their opponents. Burns lost to junior Meera Nayar 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, while Jafry was defeated by sophomore Phyllis Lin 11-9, 10-12, 13-11, 7-11, 11-7.

The hard loss was a far cry from the success of the weekend, though, with Tufts winning both its matches against William Smith and Mount Holyoke. The two games, despite similar outcomes, started in contrasting fashions. In the second match, it was the Mount Holyoke Lyons who seized the initiative as sophomore Brandy Williamson defeated the Jumbos’ senior captain Paget Stanco in straight sets, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8. 

But Tufts bounced back and regained the lead as Jafry, Burns and sophomore Claudia Udolf all won their games to give Tufts a 3-1 advantage. Jafry easily handled Mount Holyoke junior Allison Shilling 11-1, 11-3, 11-6, while Burns similarly brushed past senior Catherine Ryan 11-5, 11-3, 11-5. Udolf dropped the first game against first-year Lessly Portillo but eventually came back to claim the match 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7.

Karthik and fellow first-years Christa Irani and Isabella Libassi followed up with victories to ensure that Tufts finished the weekend with two victories out of two.

“Our matches on Saturday were great victories for our team,” Udolf said. “We came ready to play and ready to fight for each point. Our team was mentally and physically ready for that match and [that] just asserts all the hard work that we have been doing during practice.”

Udolf won both her games on the weekend, recording a straight-sets victory over William Smith sophomore Peyton Capute 11-4, 11-8, 11-8. The rest of the team didn't have it as easy, though, as Tufts’ match against William Smith proved to be a closer affair. Stanco got the Jumbos going with her victory over sophomore Cashel McCarthy. Despite losing the first game 8-11, Stanco eventually recovered to take the next 3 games 11-1, 11-7, 11-6. 

“[Losing the first game] is a common situation in squash but something I have definitely grown used to personally as well,” Stanco said. “It took me a bit to warm up and pick up on my opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in this match. Walking out down 1-0 after the first game I knew I had to regroup and really focus on my shot selection and play up my strengths and speed on court.”

Her victory set the tone for the rest of the competition. Tufts raced to a 4-0 lead against William Smith, as Jafry, Burns and Udolf all racked up victories following Stanco's win. A highlight of these games was Jafry’s eventual five-game victory over sophomore Michaelann Danton 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 7-11, 11-1.

William Smith came back to reduce the deficit to just one game, as juniors Brooke Hayes and Delaney Teceno and senior Anna Worcester defeated Tufts’ first-years Sinclair Meggitt, Irani and sophomore Gabrielle Salomon, respectively. Tufts ultimately secured the victory in the eighth match, as Karthik defeated senior Justine Shank in straight games 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.

“Everyone’s matches were very close last Saturday, as both teams tend to have a strange style of play, so it was difficult for all of us to adjust to this,” Stanco said. “For our first weekend back in the new year everyone on our team did a great job setting the tone for the rest of the season.”

The first-years were particularly impressive this weekend, something Stanco acknowledged.

“Overall I have watched them all step up throughout the season and really get into the competitive spirit on court,” Stanco said. “From top to bottom they fight hard and always give it their all. A lot of our matches were more than three games and it is always great to see players come back when they are down in a match.”

Tufts will next travel to Colby on Saturday before playing Boston College at their home Belmont Hill court on Monday. The Jumbos have maintained their optimism despite Wednesday night's tough loss and the end of the four-game winning streak.

“Wellesley was ranked ahead of us, but we still had some really good matches, because everyone fought very hard and it was very good squash, even if some results may not have conveyed that,” Karthik said. “Going forward, we are playing Colby on Saturday and they are ranked higher than us as well but we look to have some really good matches. I'm sure everyone is ready to fight very hard and continue play great squash.”

Saturday's and Monday's matches will be the team's final regular season matches before they go into NESCAC weekend, Feb. 5-7. The Jumbos will look to use their last NESCAC match-up this weekend to improve their tournament seed.

“We are very well prepared and excited to compete at NESCACs,” Udolf said. “We continue to work hard during practice in order to do our best during that tournament.”