This weekend was a huge one for Hamilton College squash, as the Continentals hosted both the men’s and women’s NESCAC Championships. Going into the weekend, the men’s team was ranked seventh in the NESCAC and 26th in the nation. The women’s team was ranked eighth in the conference and 22nd in the nation.
Both teams played on Friday in the first round of the conference championships. The men’s team played against Connecticut College. The Camels were the ten seed and ranked 30th in the country. The Continentals started the weekend on the right foot, as they took care of business and won handily, seven games to two. Hamilton’s top three on the ladder led the charge. Colin O’Dowd ’19 won in three tough games. His scores were 13 to 11, 11 to nine, and 12 to ten. Callum Sondhi ’20 also won in three games, with the scores, 11 to four, 11 to six, and 12 to ten. John Sawyers ’21 dropped the first game five to 11 before winning the next three 11 to eight, 11 to three, and the final game was a thriller, 14 to 12. Fourth in the ladder, Nick Conzelman ’20 fought hard in all four games, but unfortunately lost. Tristan Chaix ’20 plats fifth and won in three straight games. He was always in control of the match, the scores were, 11 to nine, 11 to three, and 11 to five. Atticus Jones ’19 and Ward Urban ’18 both won their matches in four games. Will Jordan ’20 absolutely crushed his opponent in three dominant games, 11 to eight, 11 to five, and 11 to one. Jarrod Gerstein ’20 won his exhibition match in four games. The women’s team played against the Mules of Colby College. They were ranked ninth in the conference and 24th in the country. The teams top three seeds fought hard, but unfortunately only Charlotte Zonis ’19, who is second in the ladder, won her match in four tough games, 11 to six, nine to 11, 13 to 11, and 11 to seven. The Continentals dominated all the way through the rest of the ladder. Grace Munschauer ’18 plays fourth in the ladder and won in three games, 15 to 13, 12 to 10, and 11 to eight. Katherine Bauer ’18 dropped the first game seven to 11 but then roared back to win the next three, 11 to seven, 11 to seven, and 11 to six. Liesl Guenther ’21 won the first two games, 11 to eight and 11 to nine, before losing the third nine to eleven, but remained confident and won the fourth and final game 11 to five. Marina Hartnick ’18 and Danielle Reisley ’18 both won in three straight games.
Following their wins, both of the teams moved into the NESCAC Championship quarterfinals.
The men’s team faced off against Bates College. The Bobcats were the second seed in the conference and 18th in the nation. The Continentals struggled on Saturday morning, as O’Dowd ’19 was the only Hamilton player to win his match. It was a back and forth affair. He lost the first game two to 11, but fought back to win the second and third games. 11 to seven and 11 to eight, respectively. O’Dowd lost the fourth game five to 11, which forced a divisive fifth game. He kept his composure and won 11 to six. Unfortunately, the Continentals, as a team, lost eight to one. Later in the day, the team faced off against Colby College in a consolation round. The Mules were sixth seeded in the conference and 24th in the nation. They won in all spots on the ladder and took the match nine to nothing. On Sunday, the men’s team wrapped up their NESCAC Championship play in a seventh place match against Bowdoin College. The Continentals were favored over the eighth seeded and 27th ranked Polar Bears. However, the Continentals seemed out of energy from the weekend and lost nine to zero. Gerstein ’20 won his exhibition match in five thrilling games. He lost the intense first game ten to 12, but rallied back to win the next two games, 11 to six and 11 to nine, respectively. After dropping the fourth game four to 11 he came back to win the final fifth game, 11 to five. Following the tough competition, I spoke with Conzelman ’20 who said: “The team was looking forward to more soda pops.” Jordan ’20 added that the team’s goal the rest of the season is to “be great sports and win more than we lose.”
The women’s team played against Trinity College in the NESCAC quarterfinal. The Bantams were in first in the conference and third in the nation. The Continentals managed to win two games against Trinity. Hartnick ’18 won her matchup in four games. She won the first game 11 to three, but then lost four to 11. The third and fourth games were very close, she won the third 11 to eight, and the fourth, 14 to 12. Reisley ’18 won her match in three straight games. The women’s team faced off against Tufts University in a consolation game later in the day. The Jumbos were the fifth seed in the conference and ranked 17th in the country. Only Hartnick ’18 was able to win a her match. For the second time that day she won in four games. She won the first game 11 to five, lost the second two to 11, and won the third and fourth, 11 to seven and 11 to four.
On Sunday, the team played Wesleyan College in the seventh place match. The Cardinals were the seventh seed entering the weekend and 21st in the nation. It was an incredibly close game, and, unfortunately, the Continentals lost five to four. Munschauer ’18 won in four games including an incredible 18–16 first game. She lost the second, nine to 11, but won the third and fourth, 11 to six and 11 to eight. Guenther ’21 and Reisley ’18 both won in five games. Hartnick ’18 completed her perfect weekend and won in three straight games, 11 to nine, 11 to three and 11 to six. Molly Pivirotto ’18 said, “We had a really great weekend at NESCACs. Colby was a great match for us as we had seen them earlier in the season and were familiar with their playing styles. The following matches against Trinity and Tufts were very challenging for us however we put up a fight. Although the score of the last match against Wesleyan does not reflect our success, our team played really well it came down to the last match.”
This upcoming Saturday, both teams will have their final two home matches of the season. They will take on Vassar College at 2 p.m. and Colgate University at 4 p.m.
