It was a weekend of firsts for Stanford women’s squash—uniforms not purchased at the bookstore, respect from the east coast squash establishment and a hand-full of victories. The women began the weekend by vanquishing an uninspired #21 Wellesley College team 9-0 without dropping a
game. The Stanford cheering section (namely the men’s team) was anything but uninspired— forming an impromptu arch through which the women exited the court after introductions.

In the second match of the day, the women defeated #23 Connecticut College 6-3. Brooksie, Maisy, Ashleigh, Lauren, Patricia, Karissa and Amy Eshelman each won easily. That set the stage for a Saturday night showdown with #12 ranked Bowdoin. The Stanford women came up just short—losing a tough 4-5 match that could have gone the other way. Stanford won matches seven though nine, but could not muster a victory at the head of the line-up, dropping the top five matches. There were definitely opportunities. At #2, Maisy lost a painfully close match 9-5 in the fifth after saving six match balls. In addition, a back injury forced Suzi to default the #3 match with the score tied 1-1 in games. The initial disappointment at losing such a close match to a highly ranked opponent was tempered by the knowledge that the team had nothing left to give. The experience was particularly gratifying for the seniors, who remember the days when finding enough women to travel was a challenge. Those days are over.

The team appreciated the sustenance (both food and cheering) supplied by the Riley family. The Rileys contended hard for the preppiest family award, but ultimately lost out to the Pattee parents (that’s Pa-Tee to you). Mr. Pattee sealed the deal by sporting a lemon-yellow cable-knit cashmere sweater. Susan Samuelson, clad in lowly fleece, assured interested parties that she would chose fabrics more carefully in the future.

The team also enjoyed a surprise visit from #11 Cate Crowley. She missed the team and her boyfriend (who conveniently lives in Connecticut and is a good sport) too much to stay away.

Exhausted, but exhilarated, the Stanford women joined the men for a team dinner at Hot Tomatoes. The cheesy garlic bread and Amy’s outfit both lived
up to the hype. Apparently, the party raged on well after I gracefully retired. For more information, contact Amy.

The next morning came too early for most. The Stanford women dropped another close 4-5 match to #23 F&M. At #1, fabulous freshman Brooksie Riley played one of the best matches of the weekend defeating long time rival Freddy McNeely in 5 games. Brooksie outwitted, outplayed and outlasted. Esther Cheng moved up one spot to #3 (due to Suzi’s back injury) and won her match easily. Esther has only been playing squash for three months and is on pace to take over the world by Howe Cup. Patricia “Money Honey” Kwok displayed characteristic verve and aggression on route to victory.

The Stanford women rounded out the weekend with a 6-3 victory over #27 Smith. Karissa Hazy (that’s Haaaaaazzzy to you) maintained her undefeated streak, winning easily at #9. Lauren Willard also dominated the #6 position for Stanford, winning 4 out of 5 matches. The team pried itself away from its adoring fans (who if truth be told were clinging mostly to Mark) and rode off into the sunset in a 15-passenger pimp-mobile. Brooksie, delirious from exhaustion, spent the van ride spilling her heart out to the team. Unfortunately, the rest of us were so
tired that all we remember is something about dog biscuits and squash drills.

The party was far from over, however. After a six hour plane ride back to California, some members of the team were still thirsty for more. The women, taking advantage of the three-hour time gain, moved the party to men’s team captain Chris Fesenmaier’s dorm room in Roble. Once again, you’ll have to contact Amy for more information. Our performance at Yale moved us up 8 spots to #20 in the national rankings.

But I still contend that if the College Squash Association ranked fun, we’d be number one.