Last weekend, the top end of the men’s and women’s squash teams competed in the CSA Individual Nationals, hosted at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. Representing the women were Cheri-Ann Parris ’13 and Co-Captains Hannah Laverty ’10 and Whitney Roller ’10, while Tri-Captains Kush Mahan ’10, Jordan Greenberg ’10 and Will Katz ’11 competed for the men’s team.
Laverty and Roller both competed for the Holleran Cup (B Division), while Parris fought for the Ramsay Cup (A Division). Laverty kicked off the weekend strong, garnering the first of only two total matches that the Bobcats would win over the two days of tough and well-matched competition. She demolished her first opponent, Katherine Bullard from The George Washington University. After falling in the first game, Laverty came back to sweep Bullard in three straight games. The win advanced Laverty to the Round of 32, where she was swept in three straight games by the sixth ranked competitor, Britt Hebden from the University of Pennsylvania.
Roller’s first match was against NESCAC rival, Robyn Williams of Trinity College. After falling in three straight, Roller went on to compete in the consolation round on Saturday against Northeastern’s Tess Martin. Roller endured another tough loss, but fought hard throughout.
Parris’ opening match was fought against third ranked Toby Eyre of Williams. Parris fell to Eyre in three, and progressed to the consolation round the next day to face Cornell University’s Jamie Laira. Sadly, Parris endured yet another defeat; however, the top Bobcat player celebrates the culmination of her first season of collegiate competition with an impressive record.
For the men, Greenberg came out of the gates strong on Friday, defeating his Wesleyan opponent in three straight games. Fighting for the Molloy Cup (B Division), Greenberg’s first-round victory advanced him to the Round of 32 on Saturday, where he fell to fifth ranked Matt Domenick from Rochester University.
Katz also competed for the Molloy Cup, advancing to the Round of 32 due to a first round bye. He faced William’s Christian Henze in the Round of 32 and although Katz had already defeated Henze twice this season, the Eph stepped up his game to upset Katz in four well-fought games.
Mahan competed in the Pool Cup (A Division), vying for an All-American position. Mahan’s first round was fought against Franklin & Marshall's Gabriel Melo. Melo and Mahan had faced each other in regular season competition just two weeks before and Mahan had managed to defeat Melo at the first position on the ladder.
As the saga continued this weekend, the tables were turned and Mahan fell to Melo in three grueling games. The next day, Mahan competed in the consolation round against Dartmouth’s Nicholas Sisodia, falling to his Ivy League opponent in three straight games.
The Individual Competitions put all of the finest squash players in the nation under one roof. As evidenced by the tough sequence of competitors that the Bobcat men and women faced throughout the course of the weekend, matches were extremely competitive and forced players to fight hard for each point earned. The unfortunate results at CSA Nationals mark the end of the 2010 squash season and the Bates squash careers of Laverty, Roller, Greenberg and Mahan.
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