25 January 2007:
Men's Team Travels to Bowdoin
Results summary:
Stanford VS. Bowdoin: 0 - 9
Stanford VS. St Lawrence: 5 - 4
Stanford VS. Colby: 5 - 4
Stanford VS. Connecticut College: 2 - 7
Stanford VS. Bates: 0 - 9
The men’s team traveled to Bowdoin College last weekend for the Maine Classic, winning a pair of riveting 5-4 decisions to St. Lawrence University and Colby College.
Arriving in Maine late Thursday night after a cross-country flight and a three-hour drive from Boston to Brunswick in through a snowstorm, the Cardinal wasted no time hitting the courts. Friday afternoon the squad played the home team, falling to a strong Bowdoin team 9-0. After a quick layover at Applebee’s, the team headed back to the hotel, where sophomore Ned Henningsen went “swimming” while the rest of the team rested for its evening match-up against St. Lawrence.
The Cardinal had defeated the Saints 5-4 at the Hamilton Round Robin just one month before, and the squad was fired up as it took the court at 8 p.m. Stanford pulled ahead early, with quick 3-0 wins from senior co-captain David Herbert, junior Abe Chiang and co-term Joe Kirscher at the #7 through #9 positions and a 3-1 win from junior Ben Peterson. The Cardinal was cruising as it took a 4-1 lead, but then could not nail down a decisive fifth win. Junior Andy Helppie-Schmieder lost 10-9 in the fifth game of an epic match, and freshman phenom Pat Bugas fell in five in a match that featured his left hand being nearly broken by an opponent’s racket. As senior co-captain George Kwon took the court, Henningsen was falling to St. Lawrence’s hard-hitting #1. With the match all but tied, Kwon struggled early, losing a quick first game and an even faster second. Down 2-0, “Boy” George hunkered down and began playing his brand of fun ‘n run squash, turning the tide of the match. With the clock approaching midnight, Kwon stormed back amidst the thunderous applause of his teammates and visiting parents. Kwon finished off the tiring SLU freshman, winning the match for Stanford and earning a ride on his teammates’ shoulders off the court.
The Cardinal had little time to rest, however. After a few hours of sleep and a quick breakfast, the team was back on court early Saturday for a match-up against Summers Division perennial powerhouse Colby College. That match, however, proved that the excitement of a 5-4 match is not subject to the commutative property. While the match was tight throughout, Stanford sewed up five quick wins from #2 Bugas, #6 Peterson, #7 Herbert, #8 Chiang and #9 Kirscher before dropping matches at other positions. Bugas, still reeling from his hand injury the night before, was named man of the match for his clutch win at the #2 spot.
The Cardinal had no time for reverie, however, facing the ever-strong Connecticut College just a few hours later. Stanford would have to go into the match without #3 Andrew Burmon, whose knee had given out during the Colby contest. The rest of the lineup, aching from playing three touch matches in 24 hours, put up a valiant effort, but in the end dropped a 7-2 decision to the Camels. Joe Kirscher won the Cardinal’s lone match (the other came from a forfeit at the #9 spot). Kirscher finished the weekend 3-2 and with the best individual record for Stanford.
As dawn broke on a crisp Sunday morning, the Cardinal piled into rental cars and made the trek to Lewiston to take on Bates College, ranked #13 in the country. Battered by injuries and fatigue, Stanford could field just eight players. The Bobcats defeated the Cardinal 9-0, but not before Joe Kirscher, Trent “Iceman” Hazy and Andy Helppie-Schmieder made strong showing, with Andy taking his third game to 8-all before faltering. After watching the women’s team freshman phenom Katy Brewster and junior co-captain Brooksie Riley win two tight matches, the teams made the long journey back to Boston for the flight home.
The Cardinal looks forward to a busy schedule in the run-up to Nationals, including hosting the Harvard men’s and women’s teams and traveling to Seattle for the West Coast Round Robin.