I am finally recovering from the most difficult squash loss of my Vassar career, losing 3-2 with three tie breaking 13-11 losses. I scored more points than my opponent and still managed to lose, which is almost unheard of. It was senior day and friends and family packed the stands at Kenyon Hall, adorned in maroon and gray, waving signs for senior team members. We were all excited and anxious to face Wesleyan in our last regular season match.
We lost 5-4 and there are five graduating seniors. All five seniors lost. I am still in disbelief. Each one of us wanted to win our last home match so desperately, and yet, we all lost. think in some ways it was a testament to how difficult it was for all of us to realize that it was our final match at Vassar and how much the past four years have meant to us. I know I was starting to feel emotional during our warm up, knowing this will be the last time I warm up on our home courts and play for Vassar in Kenyon.
It was hard for all of us to lose, and hard for the team to fall to Wesleyan, a team we have consistently beaten over the last four years. It was even harder to leave the courts that day, knowing that I would be back for practices, but not for another Vassar match. So many of my Vassar memories are squash related, as my teammates were the first friends I made upon arrival freshman year.
The women’s team heads to nationals this Friday at Yale seated second, just behind Wesleyan. We have a tough schedule ahead of us, but we are a close-knit team with big hearts and high hopes for victories this weekend. We have our eyes on the Walker Cup and the seniors would love to bring it home to Vassar to end our careers on a high note. Go Brewers!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Winding Down the Regular Season
“Surprise them,” said head coach Jane Parker in the locker room before our match against No. 13 ranked Middlebury. “We have nothing to lose and they have everything to lose. Let’s go out there and surprise them and prove to them how strong we are.”
Although we ended up losing, we certainly did surprise them. While Middlebury expected an easy win, we pushed them to a much closer, 6-3 victory. Emilie Kraft won at the number one spot and Meg Taylor and Alexa Lichtenstein picked up yet another set of wins for Vassar at number six and seven. Libby Pei lost to her opponent in a difficult five game match and many of the other spots had close games that could have gone either way. We left the match with our heads high, confident that we could contend with higher ranked teams, and ready for the Seven Sisters Tournament the following weekend.
We entered Seven Sisters seeded second for another year as Mt. Holyoke has won the last three years and proven to be a difficult team to beat. Our first match, Saturday morning, was against an improved Smith team. We pulled out a fairly easy win, beating Smith 9-0 and advancing to the finals against Mt. Holyoke as we had anticipated.
Mt. Holyoke entered the tournament with an impressive No. 12 ranking and we knew we would have one of our toughest matches of the season ahead of us. We went into the match with the same mentality as Middlebury, wanting to prove, despite our lower ranking, that we could still compete. Kenyon Hall was packed with friends, family, and professors, but Mt. Holyoke once again was too strong for us to beat. A 7-2 loss was still an improvement from last year’s 9-0 defeat. Additionally, although we only won two matches, the scores were much closer as Emilie’s loss consisted of two 12-10 games against Mt. Holyoke’s number one who is ranked No. 54 individually in the CSA. Sophomore Meg Taylor and freshman Alexa Lichtenstein remain forces to be reckoned with and received Liberty League Performer of the week and Rookie of the week respectively, for the second straight week.
As the regular season is drawing to a close with our final home matches being played this Saturday, February 13, at Kenyon Hall, we are hoping to add two more wins to our record before heading to nationals. Now placed in the C division, we have set our goal to win the Walker Cup at Yale, bring the trophy home to Vassar and finish at No. 17, a two spot improvement from last year. Compared with the last three seasons I’ve been here, the growth on the team this year has been exceptional. We are eager and excited to win our remaining matches and continue to improve as a team.
Although we ended up losing, we certainly did surprise them. While Middlebury expected an easy win, we pushed them to a much closer, 6-3 victory. Emilie Kraft won at the number one spot and Meg Taylor and Alexa Lichtenstein picked up yet another set of wins for Vassar at number six and seven. Libby Pei lost to her opponent in a difficult five game match and many of the other spots had close games that could have gone either way. We left the match with our heads high, confident that we could contend with higher ranked teams, and ready for the Seven Sisters Tournament the following weekend.
We entered Seven Sisters seeded second for another year as Mt. Holyoke has won the last three years and proven to be a difficult team to beat. Our first match, Saturday morning, was against an improved Smith team. We pulled out a fairly easy win, beating Smith 9-0 and advancing to the finals against Mt. Holyoke as we had anticipated.
Mt. Holyoke entered the tournament with an impressive No. 12 ranking and we knew we would have one of our toughest matches of the season ahead of us. We went into the match with the same mentality as Middlebury, wanting to prove, despite our lower ranking, that we could still compete. Kenyon Hall was packed with friends, family, and professors, but Mt. Holyoke once again was too strong for us to beat. A 7-2 loss was still an improvement from last year’s 9-0 defeat. Additionally, although we only won two matches, the scores were much closer as Emilie’s loss consisted of two 12-10 games against Mt. Holyoke’s number one who is ranked No. 54 individually in the CSA. Sophomore Meg Taylor and freshman Alexa Lichtenstein remain forces to be reckoned with and received Liberty League Performer of the week and Rookie of the week respectively, for the second straight week.
As the regular season is drawing to a close with our final home matches being played this Saturday, February 13, at Kenyon Hall, we are hoping to add two more wins to our record before heading to nationals. Now placed in the C division, we have set our goal to win the Walker Cup at Yale, bring the trophy home to Vassar and finish at No. 17, a two spot improvement from last year. Compared with the last three seasons I’ve been here, the growth on the team this year has been exceptional. We are eager and excited to win our remaining matches and continue to improve as a team.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Back in Action in 2010
January 27
After a much needed, restful break, the squash teams were back in Kenyon for two-a-day winter training sessions. For six hours a day, Coach Parker pushed us to go above and beyond our pre-break fitness and skill levels. Due to Bowdoin College’s unexpected drop in the rankings, the women’s team was now ranked 16th nationally, our highest ranking in several years, placing us on track for the “B” bracket at nationals where we would compete for the prestigious Kurtz Cup against Ivy League Universities.
Our physical and mental toughness was tested this past weekend as we traveled to Amherst, MA to play two tough competitors, Franklin and Marshall College, and Colby College. Franklin and Marshall were ranked closely behind us at number 18 and we needed a decisive victory in order to maintain our ranking. Wins from Kristine Bell, Libby Pei, Meg Taylor, and Alexa Lichtenstein put Vassar ahead 4-2, needing one more match to clinch the win. Thanks to the overwhelming support of the team and our friends and families there to cheer us on, I recorded the fifth Vassar win and we defeated Franklin and Marshall 5-4.
Due to late starts and long matches, it was nearly 8pm before we began our 6pm scheduled match against Colby. We were exhausted from our first week back at school, our intense previous matches, and many of us were fighting sickness. As soon as the matches began, we knew we had another grueling competition ahead of us. Ultimately, Colby’s top of the ladder proved to be too strong for us on Saturday as they defeated Vassar at the top four spots. Caitlin Ly and Anna Licht avenged their losses to F&M by defeating their Colby opponents. Meg Taylor and Alexa Lichtenstein landed their second wins for the day and earned Liberty League Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
Although we were disappointed as we ended up losing 5-4, and completely exhausted as the bus pulled into Kenyon close to 1am, we were proud of our hard work and close matches. We have a very tough and exciting schedule this season and are looking forward to playing a series of home matches and hosting the Seven Sisters Tournament and Vassar Challenge before heading to Yale for Nationals at the end of February.
After a much needed, restful break, the squash teams were back in Kenyon for two-a-day winter training sessions. For six hours a day, Coach Parker pushed us to go above and beyond our pre-break fitness and skill levels. Due to Bowdoin College’s unexpected drop in the rankings, the women’s team was now ranked 16th nationally, our highest ranking in several years, placing us on track for the “B” bracket at nationals where we would compete for the prestigious Kurtz Cup against Ivy League Universities.
Our physical and mental toughness was tested this past weekend as we traveled to Amherst, MA to play two tough competitors, Franklin and Marshall College, and Colby College. Franklin and Marshall were ranked closely behind us at number 18 and we needed a decisive victory in order to maintain our ranking. Wins from Kristine Bell, Libby Pei, Meg Taylor, and Alexa Lichtenstein put Vassar ahead 4-2, needing one more match to clinch the win. Thanks to the overwhelming support of the team and our friends and families there to cheer us on, I recorded the fifth Vassar win and we defeated Franklin and Marshall 5-4.
Due to late starts and long matches, it was nearly 8pm before we began our 6pm scheduled match against Colby. We were exhausted from our first week back at school, our intense previous matches, and many of us were fighting sickness. As soon as the matches began, we knew we had another grueling competition ahead of us. Ultimately, Colby’s top of the ladder proved to be too strong for us on Saturday as they defeated Vassar at the top four spots. Caitlin Ly and Anna Licht avenged their losses to F&M by defeating their Colby opponents. Meg Taylor and Alexa Lichtenstein landed their second wins for the day and earned Liberty League Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
Although we were disappointed as we ended up losing 5-4, and completely exhausted as the bus pulled into Kenyon close to 1am, we were proud of our hard work and close matches. We have a very tough and exciting schedule this season and are looking forward to playing a series of home matches and hosting the Seven Sisters Tournament and Vassar Challenge before heading to Yale for Nationals at the end of February.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
A Full Weekend to Close the Semester
The Vassar women’s squash team went into this very full weekend feeling anxious and excited. We were still on a high after winning our second straight Liberty League title, but knew that Amherst would be one of our closest and most intense matches of the season. Their 8-1 win over us last year left most of us feeling as though we had something to prove on Saturday at our home courts.
While we ended up falling just short with a 5-4 loss, one that we may want to try to blame on sickness and stress of exams, we still fought hard. Every person on the team battled for every point with fire and heart, determined to not let Amherst get away with nearly as many games or matches this year. It was a truly inspiring day of squash, as fans were packed in on the bleachers cheering for Vassar.
Even more inspiring was the way in which the team supported one another, coaching and strategizing in between games, consoling after defeat, and celebrating victories. I know that we will all use this loss as motivation to push ourselves to work harder and be ready to pick up Amherst's drop shots if we see them again at nationals.
On Sunday, the squash teams woke up before sunrise and went to the new Street Squash facility in Harlem, NY. Street Squash is an afterschool squash, tutoring, and mentoring program for Harlem youth. The teams there this weekend were Columbia, Bates, Vanderbilt, and Vassar. We played a very strong, number 12 ranked Bates team and a newly forming Vanderbilt club team. We struggled against Bates’ depth and experience, but came out with a few games won and some very close matches as well. Although freshman Alexa Lichtenstein lost 3-2, she proved that she could push Bates and keep up with their pace, despite their higher team ranking.
The women easily swept the new Vanderbilt team and we enjoyed playing a different team of players who then had to fly all the way back to Tennessee. We left Harlem exhausted after our demanding weekend and headed back to Poughkeepsie. Our 2009 portion of the season has come to a close with an impressive 4-2 record that we are eager to improve on in January 2010 when we open up the semester at Amherst on January 23, playing Colby College and Tufts University.
While we ended up falling just short with a 5-4 loss, one that we may want to try to blame on sickness and stress of exams, we still fought hard. Every person on the team battled for every point with fire and heart, determined to not let Amherst get away with nearly as many games or matches this year. It was a truly inspiring day of squash, as fans were packed in on the bleachers cheering for Vassar.
Even more inspiring was the way in which the team supported one another, coaching and strategizing in between games, consoling after defeat, and celebrating victories. I know that we will all use this loss as motivation to push ourselves to work harder and be ready to pick up Amherst's drop shots if we see them again at nationals.
On Sunday, the squash teams woke up before sunrise and went to the new Street Squash facility in Harlem, NY. Street Squash is an afterschool squash, tutoring, and mentoring program for Harlem youth. The teams there this weekend were Columbia, Bates, Vanderbilt, and Vassar. We played a very strong, number 12 ranked Bates team and a newly forming Vanderbilt club team. We struggled against Bates’ depth and experience, but came out with a few games won and some very close matches as well. Although freshman Alexa Lichtenstein lost 3-2, she proved that she could push Bates and keep up with their pace, despite their higher team ranking.
The women easily swept the new Vanderbilt team and we enjoyed playing a different team of players who then had to fly all the way back to Tennessee. We left Harlem exhausted after our demanding weekend and headed back to Poughkeepsie. Our 2009 portion of the season has come to a close with an impressive 4-2 record that we are eager to improve on in January 2010 when we open up the semester at Amherst on January 23, playing Colby College and Tufts University.
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