The Cornell men’s and women’s squash teams were extremely active over winter break, with both teams having success.
For the women, the team took a tough loss to Harvard during December.
“It appears that they are going to be the strongest team at the National Championships,” head coach Beverly Tunnicliffe said of the Crimson.
However, the squad bounced back against Dartmouth on January 13, defeating the Big Green 5-4.
This victory, combined with victories over Brown and Yale this past weekend should have the team fifth in the national rankings.
“The girls have worked really hard and trained hard,” Tunnicliffe said of this achievement.
She is also hopeful that her squad can overtake Pennsylvania for the fourth spot. The team dropped a close 5-4 decision against the Quakers earlier this season, without the presence of number-one player Olga Puigdemont-Sola.
For the men, the break involved two wins and three losses. Of the defeats, the 5-4 loss to Denison was heartbreaking.
“We thought we could have beaten them. It would have been a good win,” sophomore co-captain Jeff Porter said. Should the Red have won, the seventh-ranked team would have been upset by the eighth-ranked team.
Victories over Dartmouth and Bates should secure the Red’s position in the polls.
Porter is particularly proud of the improvement of the team over the past few years, in addition to the improvement over break.
“Some teams that used to blow us off now realize that we may beat them or at least give them a run for their money,” he said.
Archived article by J.V. Anderton