Squash lesson culminates with Howe Cup

The women's squash team finished the Howe Cup tournament last weekend with what appeared to be an average seventh place finish out of 26 teams. However, the final results fail to tell the entire story. The team's standing was not a disappointment, but instead the result of well-matched and close competition between four of the participating Ivy League teams. "Our seventh place finish doesn't mean that we didn't play well this past weekend," Gina Wilkinson, SM '03, said. "Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale, and Brown were all competing for spots five through eight. It really could have gone any way because all the schools were very evenly matched." Nevertheless, Yale's inability to capture fifth place is a fairly accurate representation of a tough season (8-5 overall, 3-5 Ivy), in which the team never failed to display its talent but was still often unable to emerge victorious, particularly among Ivy competition.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Women's squash ended its season with a tough match against Harvard.

The Howe Cup tournament kicked off with a rocky start as Yale lost to Penn 6-3 in the opening round on Fri., Feb. 16. Next, the Bulldogs allowed Dartmouth to barely squeak by with a 5-4 victory on the next day. However, break-out performances by several team members enabled Yale to defeat Brown 5-4 on Sun., Feb. 18 to finish seventh overall.

Outstanding play from the Yale's seniors was key to the victory over Brown. With the team stuck in a 4-4 tie with Brown, Captain Catherine Fiederowicz, DC '01, won the decisive match to give Yale the 5-4 victory. In the last home match of her college career, Fiederowicz defeated Brown's number-one player, Avery Broadbent '04, in an incredibly close match. "It came down to the fifth game, tied seven all, but Cat really pulled it out in the end," Wilkinson said. "She was the greatest inspiration this past weekend."

JULIA TIERNAN/YH

Number-seven Thea Handelman, TD '01, also played well and swept her opponent, Alicia Ringel '04, in three games, demonstrating the team's depth. "Thea played really well and gave us a much need win against Ringel, a very good player with a style that is hard for most people to combat," Devon Dalzell, PC '04, said. "She went in and won decisively, and that was big for us."

While several seniors had stand-out performances this weekend, the underclassmen did not disappoint. Playing at No. 2, freshman Dalzell defeated her Dartmouth opponent in five games and her Brown competitor in four games. "A great thing about the individuals on our team is their strong competitive edge, particularly Dalzell," Handelman said. "She is an incredible match player. You can count on consistency from her."

A lack of consistency has plagued the woman's squash team this season, leaving the Elis with a losing record in the Ivy League and a worse overall record than last year. The Bulldogs were 10-4 overall in the 1999-2000 season and took fifth place at last year's Howe Cup.

In particular, the team has had to adjust to the unexpected loss of one of last year's top players, Laura Keating, ES '02, who decided to return home to Australia after just one year at Yale. Keating's absence has forced this year's team to readjust the positions of its players, a task that has brought both challenges and success. "A phenomenal number-one bumps the entire ladder down a spot, and that has a huge impact, which can be seen from Keating's presence on the team last year," Dalzell said. "I know it was a shock for the girls who were here last year to find out that she transferred, but I think everyone did really well playing at [their new] spots."

Despite this year's changes and the team's mediocre record, the women's squash team refuses to look at either the Howe Cup or the past season as a failure. Although going into the weekend's tournament, Yale hoped to place fifth, the team is proud of its close matches and does not view their performance as a disappointment. "We went into the Howe Cup with the hopes of finishing fifth," Dalzell said. "Although this did not happen, I wouldn't say that we failed. Our match against Dartmouth could have gone either way. We lost it 5-4, and matches like that are heartbreakers."

As for the 2000-2001 season, the Elis believe they have evinced the ability to cope with adversity and the strength to prove they are capable of winning. "Although we didn't have as many wins as we would have liked, we had a lot of exciting matches and we were able to pull out a number of them," Fiederowicz said. "The ones we lost served as a learning experience and as a test to our resiliency."

Women's Squash

Record: 8-5, 3-5 Ivy

Recent Results: Placed seventh at Howe Cup: Won vs. Brown (5-4); Lost vs. Dartmouth (5-4); Lost vs. Penn (6-3)

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