By Tony Brown
Following a tough 5-4 loss the prior day, the No. 18 Vassar College women’s squash team split matches on Sunday, with a 9-0 sweep of Vanderbilt University and a 9-0 loss to No. 12 Bates College at the Street Squash facility in Harlem.
The Brewers, who dropped a 5-4 decision to No. 17 Amherst College on Saturday, close out the semester with a 4-2 record. Vassar will not compete again until January 23rd, when it travels to Amherst to play Colby College and Tufts University.
Against the high-ranked Bates squad, the Brewers put up a fight, going to at least four games in four matches. At No. 7, freshman Alexa Lichtenstein took her opponent, Morgan Maciewicz, to five games, eventually falling 11-8, 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8.
The Brewers had a smooth ride in the second match, as Vanderbilt brought just four players to New York.
Vassar cruised through those four matches at Nos. 1-4, as senior Emilie Kraft, junior Kristine Bell, freshman Libby Pei, and senior Hope Blinkoff, respectively, registered 3-0 sweeps.
The venue for these contests was the Street Squash Facility in Harlem on 116th Street West and the Brewers were greeted by Vassar Squash alum Ryan McGinley-Stempel, who upon graduation decided to work in the sport. Street Squash provides after-school tutoring, college preparation, and squash instruction to at-risk 6th to 12th graders in Harlem. Over 150 students are in the program and each child is seen at least 4 times a week. "We hold our participants to high standards and it’s a great partnership," said the Vassar ‘08 alum.
It’s a wonderful squash facility that is very fitting for New York as it’s all hustle and bustle with brightly lit courts. A good crowd was on hand with numerous parents and friends crowding into the building.
