Big Green squash teams slam Amherst in road victories
By Andrew Sloan
Published on Friday, January 20, 2006
The women's squash team cruised to a 9-0 win over Amherst Wednesday.
While Dartmouth students trudged wearily across the Green on their way back from drill at six o'clock Wednesday night, the Big Green men's and women's squash teams were well on their way to convincing victories over Amherst College in Amherst, Mass.
With Wednesday's win, the men's team rebounded from tough defeats this weekend at the hands of Yale and Trinity, despite the best efforts of No. 2 Todd Wood '07. The junior beat the Bulldogs' Nick Chirls-- Yale's No. 2 player -- in four sets, 6-9, 9-5, 9-0, 9-2.
Following the weekend losses, there was perhaps a bit of concern before what appeared to be a winnable set of games at Amherst. Following Wednesday night's commanding 6-3 triumph, however, all the naysayers were silenced by the resounding swoosh of the Dartmouth rackets.
The Big Green women won handily, even without No. 2 Ashley Malenchak '08, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The women annihilated Amherst, coming away with a perfect 9-0 victory after a lopsided 7-2 loss to Trinity over the weekend. Coach John Power called the dominant victory "expected" because of Dartmouth's superior experience.
No. 1 Julia Drury '06 headlined the Big Green effort with a 3-0 win over Amherst's top player, Caroline Shannon.
"I thought I played well against my Amherst opponent," she said. "Everyone on the team contributed towards the match and all the Dartmouth women played skillfully and intelligently on court."
Unlike the women's dominance, Power noted that things were not quite as smooth for the men's team, which did not receive consistent performances throughout its lineup.
"It was a different story on the men's side," he said. "All matches as expected were well-contested, but again it was the upper end of the ladder which prevailed. Unfortunately, the bottom end was not quite in form."
Andrew Boumford '09, Wood, Hank Alexander '06 and Adam Slutsky '06 turned in strong performances to lead the Dartmouth effort.
Ted Newhouse '09 also continued his stellar play after an emotional, come-from-behind victory last week against Williams that has highlighted the Big Green's season thus far.
Playing at No. 4, Newhouse defeated Amherst's Peter Hatfield 3-1 Wednesday. For The Dartmouth's reigning Athlete of the Week, however, it is team, rather than individual performances that really matter.
"Getting Athlete of the Week was obviously an honor, but the win over Williams was a team effort," Newhouse said. "It just so happened that I was on court last. The win could be credited to any of the other players who won their matches. I hope our team keeps winning our matches to move up in the rankings."
This weekend, the Big Green squash club will have the opportunity to rest its weary eyes.
The Amherst victory will ensure, however, that they will trudge to drill on Friday with their heads high, ready to take on all challengers that should come their way.