The men’s squash team was in action twice this weekend against the Connecticut College Camels and the Williams College Ephs. Unfortunately, the Continentals dropped both matches of the weekend to start 0–2 for the year. The women’s squash team was also in action this weekend, playing Connecticut College and Williams College as well. The women were able to get a win against the Camels this weekend but could not prevail against Williams.

The men have a young team this year, with only Atticus Jones ’19 returning as all four of the team’s juniors are abroad this semester. During the match against Connecticut College, the men dropped every match, ending the day 0–9. Jones, who played in the two-spot, had a strong start, winning the first two games 13–11 and 11–7 respectively, but he was not able to hold on and he lost the next three games and the match. In the one-spot was Rufus Somerby ’22 who dropped all three games 12–10, 11–2, and 11–8 respectively. Most of the players lost in three games.

Hamilton came into the year ranked #29 in the nation and played against the #30 Connecticut College, surprisingly dropping the match. Against Williams, everyone on the team lost in three games other than Somerby, who played a strong first game (a 10–12 loss) and won the second game 11–9. The lineup had three first-years playing: Oliver Constable ’22, Graham Nielsen ’22, and Will Nocito ’22. Constable, Nielsen, and Notcito played in the third, fourth, and ninth positions respectively. Nick Randolph ’21 played in the fifth position and Kyle O’Connor ’21 played in the sixth position, both of whom are playing their first competitive seasons with the team. Matthew Haas ’19 and John Buckley ’19 rounded out the lineup, both on the team for the first time as well.

The women had a better start to the season with the 9–0 victory against #22 Connecticut College. Seven of the nine women playing on Saturday won their matches in three games, and Sydney Soloway ’22 played well after dropping the first game to win in four games. Megan Grip ’19 also won in four games. The team’s outcome against Williams, however, was not to be the same.

The women lost the match 7–2 against the #13 Ephs. Maddie Sakheim ’22 had an impressive first weekend with the team, winning both of her matches. Sakheim won 11–6, 11–2, and 11–5 against her Williams opponent to go undefeated on the weekend. Jean Beecher ’19 also went undefeated this weekend, outplaying her opponent from Connecticut College 11–6, 10–12, 11–7, and 11–8. Beecher’s opponent forfeited on Sunday, giving her an automatic win. Lindsay Jadow ’19 also had a good opening weekend for the women as she won handily against her counterpart from Connecticut College, Phoebe Pliakas-Smith. Jadow lost a hard-fought match against Adrienne Conza from Williams, winning the first game but dropping the following three to lose in four games.

Both the men’s and women’s squash teams will be back in action this weekend at home in the Little Squash Center in Clinton, N.Y. The men will face off against the University of Western Ontario on Sunday, Dec. 2. The women will be playing St. Lawrence University on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 12:00 PM and Mount Holyoke College at 4:00 PM on Sunday, Dec. 2.