This post was written by Hatchet reporter Peter Hoegler.
With College Squash Association National Championship positions on the line, both men’s and women’s squash concluded its regular seasons Saturday night with doubleheaders against Drexel and Virginia.
The No. 8 ranked women’s team (9-6) finished its senior day in fashion: first defeating the No. 15 Dragons 6-3, then sweeping the unranked Cavaliers 9-0. The No. 17 ranked men’s team (9-8) dropped its first match against No.12 Drexel 5-4, but then swept the nightcap against Virginia, 9-0.
Although positional rankings are still up in the air, the Colonials should be riding some momentum heading into the CSA National Championships in the next few weeks.
Despite resting their top two players against Franklin & Marshall the night before, GW men’s lost a nail-biter to Drexel. Although the Colonials won three of the top four matches, the Dragons took out the Colonials’ bottom two players to pull out the narrow victory.
GW’s No. 2 freshman Oisin Logan, who was the only one to register a victory against No. 7 Franklin & Marshall on Friday night, also lost his final set 11-9 in the team’s 5-4 loss.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match, but Drexel had a loss to a team that we beat. It ended up being heartbreakingly close and we just couldn’t pull it out,” head coach Wendy Lawrence said.
During the nightcap however, the men’s team won in convincing fashion, besting the visiting Cavaliers 9-0. GW’s No. 1 freshman Mason Ripka won three sets to one (11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7) to conclude the long weekend, while sophomores Andres de Frutos, Nicolas Valderrama and Josh Marks each picked up their second wins of the day.
After sweeping Franklin & Marshall on Friday night, women’s squash took home a 6-3 win over visiting Drexel. The Colonials’ top three, junior Anna Gabriela Porras, sophomore Breanne Flynn and senior Alejandra Porras, all won to help secure the Colonials’ eighth victory of the season.
With momentum on its side, GW also topped Virginia in dominating fashion–sweeping the Cavaliers in all nine matches without dropping a single set, while holding its opponents to an average of just 4.8 points per set.
Now on a four-game win streak, the women’s team is looking forward to next weekend’s CSA National Championships at Harvard University. The Colonials are looking to make the Howe Cup (A-Division) for the first time in program history.
As for the men’s team, the Colonials are looking at either the eight seed in the B-Division or a top seed in the C-Division following Saturday’s matches.
