Playing its first match since breaking into the top 10 in the country at No. 7, the Yellowjacket squash team had yet another impressive performance this past week.
Playing against the Continentals of Hamilton College on Friday, the ‘Jackets cruised to another 9-0 victory- their fourth such victory of the season.
“Three years ago, this match would have been a much greater challenge for our team, but our sweep here is evidence of our incredible improvement in such a short time,” senior captain Patrick Harris said.
UR dropped only one game the entire match on the way to the sweep. With the win, the ‘Jackets improved to 7-1 in dual meets this season.
The top three slots for the Yellowjackets went undefeated again for an incredible ninth time in 10 matches, despite multiple roster shakeups due to tournament conflicts. At the No. 1 spot, freshman Hameed Ahmed topped Hamilton junior John Dewitt 3-0 (9-1, 9-1, 9-3).
At No. 2, sophomore Jim Bristow defeated Continental freshman Ben Clayman 3-0 (9-3, 9-3, 9-2), and, at the No. 3 position, freshman Will Newnham decisively beat out sophomore Mario Magana 3-0 (9-2, 9-1, 9-0).
Yellowjacket Sophomore Yohay Wakabayashi, at No. 4, dispatched Hamilton sophomore Jonathan Peters 3-0 (9-6, 9-2, 9-3). UR Freshman Edwin Goncharuk outlasted Continental sophomore Brett Morell in a long first game on his way to a 3-0 (10-8, 9-1, 9-7) win at No. 5, and, at No. 6, ‘Jacket sophomore Alex Lee defeated Hamilton junior Sander Doucette 3-0 (9-6, 9-1, 9-6).
UR Freshman Robert McDavid turned in an impressive performance at No. 7, besting Continental junior Rick Munschauer 3-0 (9-0, 9-2, 9-3). At No. 8, junior Ori Goldman quickly bounced back from a first game loss to defeat freshman James Hogan 3-1 (2-9, 9-3, 9-7, 9-1), and, at No. 9, junior Dan Carson completed the sweep, beating freshman Hal Lee 3-0 (9-7, 9-7, 9-5).
Coming in as heavy favorites, the Yellowjackets continued their season-long trend of exceeding expectations by turning in another nearly flawless victory.
Ranked No. 7 in the country, with their only loss a narrow one against current No. 6 Dartmouth College, the ‘Jackets are poised to move even higher in the next poll if they can continue their success this coming weekend.
They will face a tough schedule with four matches in four days. All of the games are home in the Goergen Athletic Center, and two of them are against opponents who are ranked in the top 15 teams in the country.
Their first match this week is on Thursday against Hobart College at 6 p.m.
On Friday night, the ‘Jackets will take on Navy, ranked No. 13 in the national polls, at 6 p.m., and on Saturday, UR will play host to St. Lawrence University. They round out the weekend on Sunday morning with a game against No. 14 Franklin and Marshall College at 11 a.m.
The Yellowjackets have already taken matches from St. Lawrence, whom they beat 8-1, and Hobart, whom they beat 9-0, at the Liberty League Championships at St. Lawrence earlier this year and should hope to repeat this success.
UR has not faced either Navy nor Franklin and Marshall yet this year, but last season lost at Navy, 2-7, and at Franklin and Marshall, 1-8. However, UR’s higher ranking this season proves they are a much improved team in comparison to last year’s squad, and the team will surely look to come away with victories.
Ray is a member of the class of 2008.
