Two players from the No. 9 men’s squash team and two from the No. 9 women’s team participated in the 2013 College Squash Association individual championships last weekend. Women’s co-captain Corey Schafer ’13 played in the Ramsay A-Division while co-captain Sarah Loucks ’13 along with Melina Turk ’14 and Nina Scott ’16 played in the Holleran B-Division. On the men’s side, co-captain Chris Hanson ’13 competed in the Pool B-Division while co-captain Robbie Maycock ’13, Chris Jung ’14 and Alexander Greer ’16 played in the Molloy B-Division.
Hanson pulled out a commanding victory in his first match of day one, winning 3-0 against Cornell University senior Owen Butler. However, he fell 3-0 in his second match and joined the consolation bracket, where he won his first match handily against Harvard University’s Brandon McLaughlin 3-1, but then lost a brutally close game 3-2 in the semifinals before withdrawing in the middle of the fifth and final game because of leg cramping.
“I was already pretty tired from the previous matches and my legs just didn’t hold up,” he said. “Both my quads and calves just gave out, so I unfortunately had to let the match go.”
The match was the last of the squash star’s collegiate career.
“Looking out of the court while I was playing and seeing all my loved ones supporting me is the thing that I will remember most,” Hanson said.
In the Molloy Division, Maycock earned a bye in the first round of day one and won in a comeback 3-1 victory in the second round to advance. After losing the first game of the match, Maycock rallied to win the next three 11-4, 11-9 and 11-1.
Maycock continued his winning streak the next day by defeating Bowdoin College’s Andrew Hilboldt 3-0 in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals later that day, he then beat Noah Browne of Amherst College 3-1 to advance to the semifinals.
Greer managed to win his first match 3-1 but fell in the second round 3-1. He also competed on Saturday but lost 3-0 to Franklin and Marshall College’s Alexander Arjoon.
Jung lost in a first-day grinder 3-2, but won his second match 3-0 to move on in the consolation bracket. The next day he won easily 3-0 in his first match but fell 3-2 in his consolation semifinal.
On the women’s side, the first day proved tough for Schafer, who lost her first match 3-0 to University of Pennsylvania senior Nabilla Ariffin in the Ramsay Division. She then lost a brutal 3-2 match later that day in what became her final match for the Big Green.
“It’s an accomplishment to even make the A-division tournament,” Schafer said. “It’s a lot less pressure than league matches, so we were able to relax and have fun out there.”
The day was more successful for Scott, who won 3-0 in her opening round and continued with a 3-1 win in her second round match to advance. She went on to win her first match of the next day 3-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals, where she locked in a place in the semifinals.
Loucks lost her opening match 3-0 but came back and won her first consolation match 3-1. She won both of her matches 3-0 the next day, sending her to the consolation final.
Turk fell to Trinity College sophomore Chanel Erasmus 3-1, but won her first consolation match and stayed in for day two. She clinched the first match on day two 3-0 but her tournament ended in the consolation semifinals when she lost to Bates College sophomore Myriam Kelly 3-1.
On the final day of the tournament only Maycock, Scott and Loucks remained. Maycock got off to a good start in his semifinal match by winning the first game, but ended up falling 3-1. Scott also started off hot and won the first game but, like Maycock, came up short, losing her semifinal match. Loucks lost a hard-fought 3-2 match in her consolation final, where she won the second and third games only to come up just short in the final two games.
“Overall, it was a fun tournament for all of us,” Maycock said. “It was just an opportunity for all of us to have some fun and play some people that we didn’t have a chance to play. While there was a mixed bag of results, I was happy to get to the semifinals. It was a great way to cap off my four years.”
The championships marked the end of the season, as well as the collegiate careers for both captains on the men and women’s squads.
“Other than the friendships that I’ve made, it’s not so much one experience that I will remember, but to see how much closer our team has gotten the last four years to some of the top teams in the country,” Schafer said. “That has been very rewarding.”
This does not, however, spell the end to competitive squash for everyone.
“I have decided to continue playing squash on the pro circuit next year,” Hanson said. “It is similar to the tennis circuit in that you try to accumulate points to increase your ranking by playing and succeeding in certain tournaments.”
Hanson will play in the U.S. National Championships this weekend against some of the best players in the country.