The women’s squash team (7-1) continued its domination against Amherst (10-6) Wednesday as the Elis blanked the 11th ranked Lord Jeffs 9-0.
Unlike last weekend at Princeton, the Bulldogs experienced no early jitters, getting 3-0 wins from No. 2 Gina Wilkinson ’03, No. 3 Devon Dalzell ’04, No. 4 Sarah Coleman ’05, No. 5 Kate Sands ’02, No. 6 Abby McDonough ’04, No. 7 Ruth Kelley ’05, No. 8 Aurora Farewell ’05, and captain Miriam Fishman ’02 at No. 9.
The most noteworthy performance came from Lauren Doline ’05 who overcame Susanna Burke 3-1 at No. 1. Lauren playing in her first match at the top spot, struggled early, losing the first game. She battled back and won a tough second game 9-6 and proceeded to close out Burke in four games.
After dropping the first and only game, coach Mark Talbott calmly expressed his confidence in Doline.
“She is a good young player,” he said. “She is a fighter, she will pull through.”
Fishman also had high praise for Doline.
“She is a fierce competitor,” Fishman said. “She did a great job.”
Dalzell at No. 3 and Fishman at No. 9 gave impressive performances, as well. They both won 3-0, yielding no points as they defeated Alexandra Gibbs and Emily Keiter by a combined score of 54-0.
Entering the match both teams expected the result, although Talbott warned the Bulldogs not to overlook the Lord Jeffs.
“They don’t have the talent we have, and they aren’t ranked as high as us,” he cautioned. “I told the girls to keep their focus and keep playing as hard as they could.”
“We expected Amherst to be a weaker opponent than some who we have played recently,” said Fishman. “But it’s always important not to take anybody too lightly. Everybody stepped onto the court ready to go and they played well.
On the flip side Amherst coach Jackie Bagwell said her team “went into the match knowing that Yale was a much more experienced team.”
She saw it as a great opportunity for the Lord Jeffs to get some good experience against tougher opponents and hoped that by competing against better players her girls would raise their level of play. It also allowed the Jeffs to prepare and get accustomed to the Yale courts, which is where the Howe Cup — the season-ending, national team championship — will take place.
That is not to say that Amherst conceded the match before it started.
Amherst’s No. 2 Roopali Agarwal, who lost to Wilkinson, stated, “Yale has a strong team. Our goal for the match was to play aggressively.”
Looking forward, the Bulldogs travel to Brown for what Talbott thinks will be a tougher match. He did note, however, that both the Bears’ No. 1 and No. 2 are out with injuries.
Fishman was more confident.
“I believe the No. 1 and No. 2 Brown players are injured, so I don’t anticipate this match being as even as Princeton,” she said. “But they do have some solid players. However, I’m pretty positive we’ll win — Mentally, we are ready for any opponent.”