In a battle of two undefeated teams, the No. 2 women’s squash team came out on top with a win over No. 3 Trinity.
The Elis (7–0, 3–0 Ivy) easily defeated the Bantams (6–1) with a commanding 6–3 victory in Hartford.
“It was a great win and Trinity was by far our toughest match to date,” captain Logan Greer ’11 said. “On paper, they matched up really well with our team. Each match was supposed to be very close, but we had a dominating performance.”
The team got off to a quick start, winning two of their three opening matches. Greer said that strong start set the tone for the rest of the match. Yale won the next three contests, securing the victory regardless of the outcome in the remaining matches.
“We felt really good about the matchups going into the first round, and coming out with two wins definitely put us on the right path towards winning,” Sarah Toomey ’11 said. “Getting early victories is always key to keeping a positive team spirit throughout tough matches.”
One of the key differences between the Bulldogs and Bantams was Yale’s ability to change tactics if a match was not going well, Greer said. She cited Camilla Tomlinson ’14 as an example of the team’s the ability to adapt. Greer said Tomlinson extended her rallies in order to tire out her opponent.
“We established that we were the better team from the beginning. Millie came back to win in four games,” Greer said. “It was a momentum shift and the win avoided putting more pressure on other players. She changed her tactics and that helped her beat her opponent.”
Trinity, a team that is ranked just one spot below the Bulldogs, failed to challenge the team at the lower ladder positions, losing multiple matches in straight games, 3–0. According to Greer, the Bantams’ fitness and mentality did not match up the Elis.
The team plans to continue with strong performances this weekend against No. 6 Stanford, No. 15 Franklin and Marshall, No. 13 Mount Holyoke, and No. 20 Colby.
“I think Logan has done a great job in keeping the motivation up,” Caroline Reigeluth ’11 said. “It can be hard to work continuously hard from preseason to February. But I think everyone has added to the morale of the team. We enjoy being with each other and working hard.”
Wednesday’s wins did not stop Greer from emphasizing the importance of this weekend’s matches.
According to the players, it will be physically demanding to play four matches in such a short period of time.
“Going into this weekend, we are going to look at the matches as an opportunity to build off [Wednesday’s] win,” Greer said. “ It is an opportunity to compete in pressure situations. We all have things we need to work on in our games.”
Yale plays host this weekend at the Brady Squash Center.