Miranda Ranieri ’08 is being touted as one of the strongest female squash players at the collegiate level, but she lost to an old foe, Williams’ Toby Eyre, in four sets Thursday night.
Although Ranieri did not get an individual win, the women’s squash team still won in dominating fashion over Williams. Following a disappointing away loss to Penn last weekend in the Ivy opener, the Bulldogs won 7-2 in their final regular-season game of 2007.
The Elis’ second loss of the night came from the No. 2 player in the ladder, Logan Greer ’11, who played a very close game and lost in the fifth set.
Players said they are looking forward to playing a match after a frustrating road trip last weekend against the Quakers. Sarah Barenbaum ’08 said the team was excited about last night’s match against the Ephs.
“We came out and played pretty well,” Barenbaum said. “It’s a great way to end the first half of the season.”
Last year in Massachusetts, the Bulldogs won 8-1 against Williams, a team that finished sixth in the final College Squash Association rankings.
Kaitlin Vinci ’10 said this year’s Williams team has a very strong top of the lineup.
Ephs sisters Toby and Ashley Eyre handed out losses to the Elis’ Nos. 1 and 2 players in the ladder this year. Ranieri’s first loss of the season was eerily similar to her first loss of the 2006-’07 campaign. Last season, she lost to freshman Toby Eyre who, as an even more experienced sophomore this year, beat Ranieri once again.
The Bulldogs have a 3-1 record this season, and several of the players said they attribute their success so far to good leadership and preparation.
Elisabeth Hill ’08 said Ranieri, the team’s captain, has done a good job of leading the team.
“Miranda has done a good job in terms of keeping the team excited about playing and keeping the practices fun,” Hill said.
The majority of the women’s squash season will take place after the winter break. The players said they have high hopes for the remainder of the season.
“We don’t want to win just the Ivies — we would like to win the national championships,” Hill said. “This just brings us one step closer.”
But the Ivies come before national aspirations. The Elis said they look forward to playing after the break. The team will have to wait until Jan. 19, when Cornell and Dartmouth come to New Haven, to face another Ancient Eight foe.
“We are hoping to come out strong after the new year,” Vinci said.
The match against Williams was the final regular-season game of 2007, but Yale is hosting a United States Squash and Racquet Association’s tournament this weekend.
The next regular-season match will come Jan. 12 against Wesleyan, Middlebury and Amherst.