Squash seeks improvement

Elizabeth Pacheco Sports Editor

With the small number of recruits joining this year, the men’s and women’s squash squads have had to work especially hard to succeed. Coming off tough losses at the Liberty League Tournament on Nov. 18-Nov. 19, this past weekend was an opportunity to come out with a win. The men played in the Haverford Invitational (Dec. 2-Dec. 3), where they defeated Pennsylvania State University (7-2) and Columbia University (5-4), but lost to host Haverford College (3-6). The women competed in the Wesleyan Invitational on Dec. 2, and while they lost to Bowdoin College (2-7), the loss to Colby College (4-5) was very close.

Jane Parker, head coach of both teams since 2000, recognizes the challenging schedule the team is set to play and continually seeks new ways to improve the team. This season, she is showing international matches and using a technique called “shadowing.” Fairly experimental, shadowing is when a video is projected onto the wall and players try to imitate the person in the video. “Shadowing gives the players an approximation of the game’s speed at the top level,” said Parker. “Emulating the movements helps the team to move correctly as well as improve on swing and footwork. Many teams have yet to use this method, although it has proven to be quite successful.”

The teams also now have the advantage of year-long use of Kenyon Hall. This has made off-season training much easier, and gives captains more opportunities for practices.

“Our team is in a state of transition. We lost five seniors to graduation as well as Aniruddh Mundra ’08 to a plethora of injuries this year, which is tough for any team to overcome,” said co-captain of the men’s team Greg Kantrowitz ’08. “On the bright side, though, we’ve had a lot of people step up this year.” Helping Kantrowitz lead the men’s team is Anshuman Beri ’08, and the women’s captain is Blair Komar ’07.

While the team’s goal is, naturally, to win all of their matches, Parker also stressed the importance of personal improvement. “Can you do more at the season’s close than you could at the beginning of the year?” she asks her players. “Matches are much more about the performance rather than the outcome. The men play against teams too far ahead in experience and skill level to always be winning, so improving on their technical skills is especially important.”

Following this weekend, both teams have a 10-day match-free period, giving players a chance to improve technical skills. During Winter Break, the teams will travel to Barbados from Jan. 9-Jan. 18. Financed by a donor whose name has been withheld, the trip will serve as a training week during which the teams will practice together and later compete in a tournament organized by the local squash association.

Upon returning to campus, the men will play at Wesleyan University on Jan. 20, while the women will host the annual Seven Sisters Tournament from Jan. 20-Jan. 21. Having won Seven Sisters four times in a row, the team hopes to continue their streak.