Squash triumphs over three teams at Vassar College competition

Elba Barra Montgomery ‘23 beat the Wellesley opponents in just three matches at the Seven Sisters Squash Championship, hosted at Vassar College. Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics.

By Lauren Leese ’23

Staff Writer

Mount Holyoke Squash surged to victory against teams from Wellesley College, Smith College and Vassar College on Saturday, Feb. 11 in a tournament held at Vassar College. The weekend’s games brought the Lyons’ record for the season up to 7-12.

First, the Lyons faced off against Smith. In the No. 1 position, Habiba Abouelatta ’26 won the first two games 11-0 and finished off with an 11-1 win. The rest of the team also won all of their matches, with no opponent scoring more than six points before the end of the game. The final result was 9-0 to the Lyons.

Vassar proved to be a tougher opponent, but the Lyons still prevailed with a score of 8-0. Ku Paw ’26 in the No. 3 position and Tina Mei ’26 in No. 4 both lost their first games but came back to win the next three matches and secure their overall victories. In the No. 2 position, Xaria Durocher ’24 won in three matches despite a tough showing from the No. 2 Vassar player that resulted in two of the games going to 12 points instead of the usual 11.

Finally, the Lyons achieved victory over Wellesley with a final score of 8-1. In No. 3, Paw lost the first two games 9-11 and 4-11 but proceeded to come back and defeat the No. 3 Wellesley player in the subsequent three games with scores of 11-3, 11-2 and 11-7. Abouelatta, Dnyaneshwari Haware ’23, Elba Barra Montgomery ’23 and Paige Gershuny ’25 all defeated their Wellesley opponents in only three matches.

Haware drew attention to the historical precedent of this competition. “The Seven Sisters Championship … has been a historical meet for many squash alums,” she said. “MHC has won this 12 times in the past 23 years and after winning it this weekend, we got a lot of congratulations from alums all over the world.”

“This was probably the busiest season post-pandemic and we also played 9 colleges in 9 days in January,” Haware continued. “But squash is a sport that will encourage you to keep working on yourself and teach you that every small thing … can make a big difference. We also have Recreational Squash every Wednesday at 6 or 6:30 p.m. where anyone can come and learn squash or play squash with another person for fun.”

Janiqua Davis ’23 won all three of her matchups against the other colleges’ athletes. “My performance this weekend was phenomenal,” Davis said. “I’m proud of my effort on the court despite [the] injuries I have been managing. I have kept a positive attitude on-and-off court, mentally kept my head in the game and stayed focused.”

Looking towards the College Squash Association Team Championships taking place from Feb. 17-19, Davis emphasized the importance of team spirit, self-care and perseverance. “As a team, we have been working extremely hard on how to support each other and most importantly ourselves in so many ways, both mentally and physically,” she said. “I have recognized that I came a long way to get where I’m at today on and off court … It is not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get back up and can grow through every obstacle.”

Next, Mount Holyoke Squash will head to the College Squash Association Team Championships at the University of Pennsylvania from Feb. 17-19.

Decorated Black athletes broke down barriers in the sports world

Wilma Rudolph, far right, won the 4x100-meter relay at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. She also won the 100-meter and 200-meter dash events. Photo courtesy of GPA Photo Archive via Flickr.

By Genevieve Zahner ’26

Staff Writer

Content warning: This article mentions racism. 

Black athletes were prohibited from participating in professional sports for much of history, but prominent figures such as Debi Thomas and Wilma Rudolph broke down walls and became some of the most decorated athletes. Many eyes now fall upon figures like Simone Biles and Serena Williams when thinking about prolific Black athletes, but there were many other trailblazers before them who paved the way for the future of sports. 

1.  Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson was the first Black tennis player to compete at the U.S. National Tennis Championship in 1950, but that was only the beginning of her success. She went on to win the French Open in 1956, followed by Wimbledon in 1957 and the U.S. Open in 1958, becoming the first Black champion of such events. Gibson was raised in Harlem, New York, and grew up loving sports, particularly ping-pong. She won a local tournament hosted by the American Tennis Association just a single year after playing tennis for the first time. She went on to win the same tournament twice more in 1944 and 1945, and following one loss, she won 10 straight championship titles from 1947-1956. Gibson died on Sept. 28, 2003, of respiratory failure. 

2. Willie O’Ree

Willie O’Ree was the first Black player in the National Hockey League, playing for the Boston Bruins starting in 1958. He grew up in Canada in one of two Black families in his town of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He first played organized hockey at age five with his brother, who taught him how to body check. In 1956, O’Ree started playing for the Quebec Aces, a team with a strong connection to the NHL and a history of integration. He played with the Aces until 1958, when he was called up from the Aces to play for the Bruins, playing his first NHL game on Jan. 18 of that year and making history in the league. O’Ree experienced racial taunts from spectators and players alike, including an incident in which spectators threw cotton balls and a black cat onto the ice. Despite these obstacles, O’Ree became an ambassador for the NHL Diversity program, traveling to boost grassroots hockey programs, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018. 

3. Wilma Rudolph

Wilma Rudolph was the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympics at Rome’s 1960 Summer Olympics. Rudolph participated in track and field and won her medals in the 100- and 200-meter dash, as well as the 4x100-meter relay. Rudolph also won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics for the 4x100-meter relay. A survivor of childhood polio, Rudolph was told she would never walk again, let alone run. Rudolph defied these odds and started playing basketball in middle school, for which she was nominated as an All-American athlete in high school. After a meeting with a college coach, she switched to track and field. At the 1960 Olympic Games, her performance earned her the nickname “the fastest woman in the world” after becoming the first American woman to win three gold medals. When coming home, she refused to participate in the homecoming parade if it was not integrated, and she commonly used her fame as a means to bring attention to social issues. Rudolph died of a brain tumor on Nov. 12, 1994.

 4.  Ernie Davis

Ernie Davis was the first Black football player to earn the Heisman Trophy. Recruited by many institutions to play collegiate football, Davis decided to play for Syracuse University as a running back. While on the team, Davis led the Orangemen to an undefeated season and a national title in his sophomore year. Davis had two touchdowns in the 1960 Cotton Bowl versus the University of Texas, which led him to be the Cotton Bowl’s Most Valuable Player. He was an All-American athlete in his junior and senior years and was given the Heisman Trophy in 1961. Davis was the first overall draft pick in the 1962 National Football Draft and was selected by the Washington Commanders. However, after refusing to play for the racist owner of the team, Davis was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Davis was never able to play a game for the Browns, as he was diagnosed with leukemia just prior to the 1962 College All-Star game. Davis died at age 23 of leukemia. 

5.  Debi Thomas

Debi Thomas was the first and only Black figure skating Olympic champion and the first Black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics in 1988. The first time Thomas was introduced to skating was when her mother took her to an ice show, and by the age of nine years old, she was skating competitively and conquering her competitions. Thomas won the national and world figure skating championships during her freshman year at Stanford University and was recognized as the 1986 Athlete of the Year by World Wide Sports. After the 1988 Olympics, in which she took the bronze medal in the short program and fifth in the long program, Thomas skated professionally. During this time, she claimed three professional world titles and performed with Stars on Ice. After four years, Thomas stopped skating to attend medical school at Northwestern University in 1997. Thomas is now a practicing orthopedic surgeon in Indiana.

Mount Holyoke Track and Field finishes 12th at Tufts

Multiple Mount Holyoke runners set personal bests at the Tufts Cupid Challenge on Feb. 4. Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics.

By Genevieve Zahner ’26

Staff Writer

The Mount Holyoke Track and Field team competed at the Tufts Cupid Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Lyons placed 12th out of 13 teams, with Brandeis University behind them by 18 points and Wellesley College ahead by one.

“We encountered a lot of tough competition at the Tufts meet last weekend, but our team did very well,” Maya Evans ’26 said.

Emma Doyle ’23 placed second out of 43 competitors in the shot put, and was short of a personal best by two centimeters at 11.29 meters. Doyle also placed ninth out of 36 individuals in the weight throw with a mark of 11.73 meters.

Elle Rimando ’26 achieved a season best in the long jump with a mark of 5.04 meters, earning seventh place out of 21 others in the event. The jump put Rimando at fifth place on the Mount Holyoke all-time performance ranking for the event. Rimando also earned ninth out of 35 athletes in the 60-meter dash, placing just outside of team scoring with a time of 8.29 seconds. 

Tessa Lancaster ’25 placed second out of 23 runners in the 3000-meter run and achieved a personal best time of 10:37.55, edging out an Amherst College athlete by 1.01 seconds and behind Tufts University’s first-place finisher by 2.53 seconds. With this time, Lancaster, whose previous best time ranked eighth all-time for the indoor program, ascended to sixth on Mount Holyoke’s all-time performance list in the event.

“More people were excited about their performances [rather than] frustrated,” Head Coach Jay Hartshorn said. “In track and field you always have some ups and downs, so more ups is always the goal.”

Kim Beaver ’25 secured a personal record in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:47.16, shaving off 0.71 seconds from Beaver’s previous record. Devan Ravino ’23 also had a best time in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:15.50, earning 17th place. Bridget Hall ’24, Orion Griesmer ’24 and Maya Evans ’26 placed 11th, 13th and 14th respectively in the 5000-meter run, with Hall finishing at 19:55.45, Griesmer at 20:24.47 and Evans at 20:51.72.

Mount Holyoke Track and Field will next compete on Saturday, Feb. 10, at Middlebury College.

Gigi Downey ’23 to represent U.S. in world ultimate frisbee championship

By Emily Tarinelli ’25

Sports Editor

When Gigi Downey ’23 was invited to a friend’s ultimate frisbee practice in 2015, she was unsure about going and whether she would even like it. Now, eight years later, she has multiple accolades in the sport. Her most recent achievement: qualifying for the women-matching under-24 national team, punching a ticket to Nottingham, United Kingdom, to represent the United States in the U24 world ultimate championship.

A geography major and architecture minor, Downey played several sports growing up — including soccer, softball and track — but none of them stuck with her like ultimate frisbee. As a student at Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts, Downey competed on both a youth club team and their high school’s frisbee team, where they served as captain during their senior year.

Now a senior at Mount Holyoke, Downey is a co-captain of Daisy Chain, the College’s ultimate frisbee team and one of Mount Holyoke’s club sports. Founded in 2005, Daisy Chain is no stranger to high achievements. According to the team’s biography on the USA Ultimate website, Daisy Chain has qualified for the Division III College Championships each year since 2016, with a fifth-place finish at last year’s 2022 championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Additionally, Downey was recognized as last year’s Ultiworld D-III Women’s Defensive Player of the Year for their stellar performance on the field, and was named to the All-American first team.

“On offense, Downey is a speedy handler who is not afraid to make a big play or two. Her upline and strike cuts proved hard to defend and she proved to be a force near the end zone (12 goals, 14 assists). Even when she turns the disc, she knows how to find a way to get it back,” a statement on the Ultiworld website said. “As a defender, she is just as, if not more, versatile. When setting up a zone, she could cause damage in any position … What possibly makes Downey stand out the most as a defender is her heads-up defense. With an eye always on the disc, she got her hands on discs that the players she was defending didn’t see coming.”

To qualify for the U24 world team, Downey had to complete a questionnaire application in order to be invited to the tryouts.

“It was kind of like applying to a job or applying to school,” Downey recalled. “We answered a bunch of different questions that were like, ‘What’s Spirit of the Game? What kind of player are you? What’re your best strengths?’”

According to Downey, “Spirit of the Game” is a conceptual element that is unique to ultimate frisbee.

“Frisbee is a self-officiated sport. So we have observers at certain levels of play, but for the most part, when you make a call, it has to be from you and you have to talk to the [other team’s] person. … [Spirit of the Game] is basically holding respect for the other player, knowing the rules and upholding them and not cheating,” Downey said. “I feel like I value that kind of connection of trying to effectively communicate with people.”

This was not the first time that Downey attempted to qualify for the world team. In 2019, she was invited to the under-20 tryouts.

“I was really invested,” Downey said. “I would throw every day and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is a great opportunity.”

But in the middle of the tryouts, Downey broke their arm.

“It was such a big bummer,” Downey said.

Going into the U24 tryouts, which were hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, in early November 2022, Downey said that her biggest goal was to just have fun.

“I kind of had that mentality of [thinking it] was not going to be great because of how bad the last tryouts were. So my goal was to just giggle and try to play my best. And I honestly felt like I didn’t play my best, too, which was kind of funny,” Downey said.

The results of the tryouts arrived in mid-December, and Downey recalled the moment she found out that she made the team with laughter.

“It was pretty funny,” they said. “I was on the toilet. I was reading my email after cleaning out the art studio [when] it was winding down for the semester. And I had a little dance party and ran around afterwards to celebrate.”

According to an MHC This Week email sent to the Mount Holyoke community on Jan. 25, Downey is one of 24 players who claimed a spot on the U24 team out of the 200 athletes who tried out. Hosted by the World Flying Disc Federation, the games will take place between July 1 and 8, 2023. Downey will meet with the U.S. team for one weekend in the spring and will undergo an intensive training session during the week before the world championship. Until then, it is up to her to train independently. With Daisy Chain and their involvement on Boston Slow, a mixed club team based in the Boston area, that should not be a problem for Downey.

“Working hard for the people that I care about [motivates me],” Downey said. “It’s also the little things too, just like showing up to practice, doing silly things … I think just finding time with each other is super awesome.”

Mount Holyoke Basketball falls to the Smith Pioneers 85-24

Basketball captain Marley Berano '25. Image courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics.

By Genevieve Zahner ’26

Staff Writer

Mount Holyoke Basketball went up against nationally-ranked Smith College on Saturday, Jan. 28, ending the game in an 85-24 loss. Captain Marley Berano ’25 was Mount Holyoke’s leading scorer with seven points, while Smith’s leading scorer Morgan Morrison ’23 scored 15 points. 

Many Lyons contributed to Mount Holyoke’s total points, including Kendall Maurer ’26, who made two three-pointers for a combined six points, almost tying with Berano for total points scored. Isabel Cordes ’24 scored five points and collected a team-high of two assists. Taryn White ’26 had 11 rebounds alongside two steals and two points scored. Teal Howle ’24 also scored two points.

In the first period of the game, Smith was able to score six points before Mount Holyoke was put on the board by Maurer’s first three-point shot. Smith secured a hefty lead at 17 points before it was cut to 17-6 by Maurer’s second three-pointer, but another offensive run by Smith put the score at 28-6 by the end of the period.

The Pioneers maintained a steady lead in the second quarter, and with points from Cordes, Howle and White, the Lyons trailed at 39-12 at the half. Smith outscored Mount Holyoke 24-2 in the third quarter to bring the score to 63-14 and started the final quarter with a 49-point lead. Smith scored an additional 22 points before the final buzzer while Mount Holyoke rallied to score 10 more points by Berano, Cordes and Libby Harris ’26. The game ended with a score of 85 points by Smith compared to Mount Holyoke’s 24.

“I was very proud of the way our team relied on and supported each other throughout our game yesterday,” Maddy Duncan ’26 said. “Games like that can make it tough to keep up morale and maintain team spirit, but I think we did a great job of not letting it affect us in that way.”

Harris spoke on the importance of gaining experience as a young team. “As a young team we face adversity and challenges every day,” Harris said. “There have been ups and downs, but these past few games we have really been on an upward trend with three hard games played, [and] we are excited to see what the next few weeks brings for us.” 

Mount Holyoke Basketball has a record of 2-19 so far this season, with a 1-9 record at home and a 1-8 record for away games. The Lyons will compete at Clark University on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Club Corner: Ice Hockey competes against Westfield State

MHC Ice Hockey in a team huddle on senior night. Image courtesy of Jenny Yu.

By Lauren Leese ’23

Staff Writer

Mount Holyoke Ice Hockey competed against Westfield State University at the Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Jan. 28. The Lyons fell to the home team with a score of 0-10. Westfield State University currently ranks third out of six teams in the Western Adirondack Division of the Independent Women’s Club Hockey League, while Mount Holyoke ranks sixth.

Team captain Abby Mann ’24 spoke about the team’s highlights of the game. “Our goalies, Edith Townsend-Cardosi ’25 and Hannah Landau ’26, had an amazing game. They both made a lot of really good saves,” Mann said. “[It is] also definitely worth noting that Virginia Middleton ’26, our other goalie, stepped up and played a great game as a wing.”

Mann further elaborated on the fun the team has while playing. “We just get out there, play our best and have fun. There’s not much more organized strategy than that,” they said. “We have a total blast regardless of the score, and we celebrate our own progress and accomplishments. I love this team.”

Cami Robinson-Parisi ’26 echoed Mann’s sentiment about the team spirit and expressed their excitement to play in future hockey games. “I absolutely love the positive nature of the team — we really focus on self-improvement and having fun while learning how to play hockey,” she said. “I am super excited to play in future games.”

Looking to the future, Robinson-Parisi added, “We are always looking to improve our game, and being able to take constructive criticism and advice from our coach as well as more experienced teammates has been incredibly helpful. Personally, I am always striving to improve my skating and understanding of the game.”

Mount Holyoke Ice Hockey will continue its season with a match against their Western Adirondack Division rival Norwich University at the Kreitzberg Arena in Northfield, Vermont on Saturday, Feb. 4.

New report finds that trans women athletes have no unfair advantage in elite sports

Transgender pride flags. Image courtesy of Ted Eytan via Anti-Defamation League.

By Emily Tarinelli ’25

Sports Editor

For the first time ever, a report titled “Transgender Women Athletes and Elite Sport: A Scientific Review” has shown that no existing scientific literature has proven trans women to have inherent competitive advantages over cisgender women in high-performance athletics. The report, which was published in late 2022, is a comprehensive review of all English-language studies published between 2011 and 2021 exploring trans participation in elite sports. It was commissioned by the Canadian Centre of Ethics in Sport, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making sports more safe, accessible and inclusive for all, and conducted by E-Alliance, a group made up of scholars and organizations committed to gender equity in athletics.

As stated in a summary of the 86-page review by Athlete Ally, a nonprofit advocacy group for LGBTQ+ athletes, the report cites two fields of interest when it comes to drafting trans eligibility requirements: the biomedical and the socio-cultural. Under the flawed assumption that trans women athletes possess an inherent biological advantage over their cisgender counterparts, policymakers tend to use only biomedical research to inform regulations for trans inclusion, without considering sociocultural elements that also impact athletic performance. According to Athlete Ally’s summary, “Biomedical and social scientific information should both be used in policy-making. However, biomedical research is often overvalued to the detriment of athlete well-being.”

The review provides an in-depth assessment of current biomedical research, which found that most studies used to back trans inclusion policies are structured around cis men or non-athlete trans women subjects, not elite trans women athletes themselves, Athlete Ally reported. Additionally, these studies avoid recognizing instances in sports where cis women possess advantages over cis men — for example, in long-distance open water swimming, according to one comparative study. Furthermore, most literature only considers one variable, like testosterone or grip strength, and plays up that variable’s effect on athletic ability, while ignoring additional social characteristics that contribute to an athlete’s prowess. According to the review, the available biological data is not only “methodologically flawed,” but also “severely limited.”

Additionally, the review made several other findings based on the biomedical literature. First, the report found no indication that naturally produced testosterone is associated with stronger athletic performance among cis women. Moreover, the distribution of testosterone levels between elite cis men and women athletes overlap, given that everyone produces estrogen and testosterone. In addition, the review found that recent research showed that biological characteristics like bone density, lung capacity and hip-to-knee joint angles do not correspond with performance advantage. Lastly, the review stated that based on the only three studies to have explored the subject of trans athletes, any possible competitive advantages are neutralized through testosterone suppression after 12 months — and occasionally sooner.

The review then transitions into an in-depth examination of the sociocultural factors that contribute to trans athletic performance. To begin, the report states that there are many social elements that impact competitive differences between men’s and women’s sports that specifically target the latter. Sexual harassment and abuse of women athletes, comparatively lower numbers of women’s teams, disparate access to facilities and training equipment, scarcity of monetary resources, inequitable pay and societal body standards, as well as various interlocking forms of oppression including racism, homophobia and transphobia, all contribute to inequities between men’s and women’s sports and directly impact performance. According to the review, “Faulty and/or absent data about trans women’s performances makes transphobia especially present and prominent in this context of scarcity and scrutiny for women in elite sport.”

Additionally, the review summary by Athlete Ally acknowledges that trans women are extremely underrepresented in sports, particularly at the elite level, and that factors such as coaching, training time and equipment accessibility often affect performance more than biological factors like testosterone.

Athlete Ally provided several recommendations to advance a fair competitive environment for all athletes, beginning with recognizing that there is no obvious connection between testosterone and competitive advantage and that trans women have no inherent edge over cis women in athletics.

“If your sport requires testosterone-based restrictions at the elite level, research suggests that 12 months of hormone replacement therapy is adequate and that longer waiting periods are not justified,” the summary stated.

Secondly, Athlete Ally advocated the rejection of misinformation and prejudiced research. Lastly, they provided specific, actionable steps to increase gender equity in sports.

“To level the playing field for all athletes, and especially for women and girls in sport, focus on ending sexual abuse and harassment, [increasing] access to equipment and facilities, pay equity and investments in nutrition and diversifying recruitment strategies,” Athlete Ally said in the summary.

The summary also identified key points from the review about what makes a quality study.

“Studies used in policy-making should include large populations, control for factors like height and weight, and compare trained athletes to untrained people. Current studies used in policy-making about trans athletes do not do this,” the summary said. “Ideally, studies should also be sport-specific. For example, biomedical factors that contribute to success in the long jump may differ from factors in marathon running. While sport-specific studies of trans athletes may not currently exist, it is important to be thoughtful about specific sports and how variables studied in literature may or may not apply.”

“There is strong evidence that elite sport policy is made within transmisogynist, misogynoir, racist, geopolitical cultural norms,” the review said in conclusion. “Sport organizers need better education, dedicated resources and high-quality research to confront, disrupt or transform gendered systems.”

Squash beats Bard and Wellesley Colleges, falls to Georgetown University

Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics. Xaria Durocher '24, above, won matches against Bard College and Wellesley College.

By Lauren Leese ’23

Staff Writer

Mount Holyoke Squash competed against three teams on the weekend of Nov. 19 and 20. Saturday saw the team handily beat Bard College 9-0 and Wellesley College 8-1. Sunday’s competition resulted in a 9-0 loss to the Georgetown University team, which is ranked 22nd in the nation.

On Saturday, Xaria Durocher ’24 competed in Mount Holyoke’s No. 1 spot and beat Bard’s No. 1 player three games in a row with scores of 11-6, 11-5 and 11-2. Durocher also faced Wellesley’s No. 1 player in a tougher matchup that saw Durocher initially lose two games before rebounding to win 3-2 with scores of 7-11, 11-13, 11-4, 11-3 and 11-9.

“Being able to compete with my teammates after training hard during our preseason practices felt amazing,” Durocher said. “It really gave me something to look forward to continue fighting for. I can't wait to make new memories with my team and coaches.”

In the No. 2 position, Tina Mei ’26 stormed to victory over the Bard player 3-1 with scores of 9-11, 11-4, 11-5 and 11-1 and the Wellesley player 3-0 with scores of 11-5, 11-3 and 11-0. Ku Paw ’26, Paige Gershuny ’25 and captains Elba Barra Montgomery ’23 and Dnyaneshwari Haware ’23 all won their matches against their Bard and Wellesley opponents 3-0. Sally Philpott ’23 lost to the No. 7 Wellesley opponent and won against Bard by default, and Cydney Socias ’25 and Keying Lin ’23 won against Bard and Wellesley by default.

Though all Mount Holyoke players lost their matches against Georgetown on Sunday, Montgomery was the Lyons’ top scorer, taking a total of 11 points across three matches in the No. 4 position. The competitions leave Mount Holyoke at 3-1 overall for the season so far.

Durocher expressed disappointment at her Sunday result but said she remains motivated for the rest of the season. “During my match with my opponent from Georgetown, I felt like I disappointed myself,” she said. “For my next matches moving forward, I’m going to fight for my [No. 1] position like it’s my last moment being [No. 1]. I refuse to let other squash teams look down on us or think we’re an easy team to beat because we’re not.”

Head Squash Coach Erin Robson spoke about the value of the weekend’s matches. “With Bard and Wellesley, … we were able to attack and to control the pace,” she said. “Georgetown exposed some weaknesses. We know what we need to work on as a team and individually.”

Looking forward to rest of the season, Robson detailed some areas the team is planning to work on. “We know that we need to return serve better and continue to work on more consistent play from the backcourt,” Robson said. “We have time to focus on these areas before our next matches, and we will need to make steady improvement so that we can compete with confidence against teams like Wesleyan, Colby and Bowdoin in January.”

The Lyons’ next competitions will take place on Jan. 13 and 14 at Wesleyan University, where they will compete against Denison University, Haverford College, Wesleyan University and Brown University.