Virginia squash kicked off its season in a two-game slate Saturday and Sunday at home in the McArthur Squash Center. The No. 6 women’s team (2-0, 0-0 MASC) handily defeated both No. 9 Columbia and No. 7 Yale by a large margin while the No. 6 men’s team (1-1, 0-0 MASC) took down the No. 8 Lions but faltered versus the No. 2 Bulldogs.
Both sides are in the midst of a gauntlet of a schedule early into the season and hope to quickly hash out the squads’ abilities and ideal positioning before entering conference play and longer, mid-season roadtrips.
Women’s game 1 — Virginia 9, Columbia 0
The Cavaliers cruised to victory in a straight set blowout — not losing a single game en route to a 9-0 victory against Columbia (0-1, 0-0 Ivy League). Graduate student Meagan Best held her opponent to just seven points in three games while playing from the first position.
Three of Virginia’s freshmen also enjoyed their collegiate debut, as Maria Min, Maryam Mian and Claire Pellegrino all won their first games during the match, something that Coach Mark Allen did not let go unnoticed.
“Shout out to our first-years that debuted today,” Allen said. “Maria Min, Maryam Mian and Claire Pellegrino, who all played beautifully and got their U.Va. squash careers off to a flying start.”
Min and Mian were especially impressive, playing from the third and fourth spot, respectively, and figure to be a huge contributing factor to the squad as the season progresses.
Men’s game 1 — Virginia 6, Columbia 3
On the men’s side, the Cavaliers began their home opener with a hard-fought win over Columbia (0-1, 0-0 Ivy League) by a 6-3 margin. Virginia’s top three positions helped earn them a 3-0 lead, highlighted by graduate student Karim Elbarbary’s win in four games that needed extra points to decide a winner in the clinching game.
Elsewhere, junior JP Tew and freshman Juan Jose Torres Lara were victorious from positions two and three, yet it was positions seven through nine that clinched the Cavaliers’ triumph. Freshman Ewan Harris sealed the deal for Virginia in the eight game, defeating his matchup comfortably 3-0.
The Cavaliers were surely glad to get their first win under their belt, but they knew that Sunday’s fixture with Yale would provide more of a challenge.
Women’s game 2 — Virginia 8, Yale 1
Sunday was more of the same for Virginia, as they crushed Yale (0-1, 0-0 Ivy League) 8-1. However, the lopsided scoreline betrays the intensity of the matchup. Five positions needed all five games to decide a victor, signaling that the Cavaliers had the clutch factor.
Best was impressive once again, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in a reverse sweep to secure a victory in the first position. Junior Lina Tammam also needed five games to earn a gritty win in the second position, allowing Virginia to start gaining momentum on the way to winning the first five positions and prevailing for the second time during the weekend.
An undefeated start in the first set of matches is the perfect momentum kickstarter for the Cavaliers. A combined 17-1 scoreline against two top-10 opponents is a testament to the squad’s preparation and elevates expectations as the season goes on.
Men’s game 2 — Virginia 2, Yale 7
Virginia could not replicate Saturday’s strong performance when they came up against the Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League), losing by a 2-7 margin. The Cavaliers stayed competitive early, splitting the first four games, but the later positions were dominated by Yale.
Tew and sophomore Dylan Moran were the only Virginia players able to get in the win column, taking their games in three and four sets, respectively. Out of the five matchups that went the five-set distance, none were won by the Cavaliers — which spelled doom for Virginia.
Without closing out those tight clashes, victory became unattainable. Allen argued that perhaps the mental component was the missing piece for taking down a strong opponent like the Bulldogs.
“It’s this kind of mental toughness that’s the missing component, and that we will work to acquire over the next few months,” Allen said. “Without it, we are still strong and talented enough to be a top-six team, but with it we could win the whole thing.”
The Cavaliers will look to continue their solid early season play when both the men and women face Pennsylvania and Chatham Saturday and Sunday at the McArthur Squash Center. The former game will begin at 1:30 p.m. and the latter is set to start at 1 p.m.
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