Women’s Squash Falls To Bates In Last Home Game

On Jan. 27, the women’s squash team geared up for Senior Day with the final home game of its season against Bates. Before the day’s events commenced, senior players Rachael Ang ’19, Emma Crowe ’19 and Priya Sinha ’19 were acknowledged in a ceremony that recognized their dedication and accomplishments on the team throughout their squash careers at Amherst. The match was hard-fought for both teams, and unfortunately for the Mammoths, the Bobcats were able to secure a 5-4 win.

The first match of the day was played by Lilly Soroko ’22 in the third spot as she matched up against Bates’ Victoria Arjoon, using all five games.

The last game was long, with points that lasted upwards of two minutes each. In the end, Soroko was able to pull off a 12-10 win for the Mammoths, finishing the match 3-2.

Of the three seniors, Sinha on the seventh court was the only one that was able to secure a victory for the Mammoths, facing Natalie Bachman of Bates. She was able to contribute four wins the Mammoths by winning the match with relative ease, beating Bachman in the first game 11-3, second 11-9 and third 11-4.

Riddhi Sampat ’21 was able to clinch a point for her team on the fourth court, winning the first game 11-6, losing the next game 11-6 and winning the third and fourth games 11-6 and 11-5, respectively.

Lastly, Ashira Mawji ’21 on the ninth court took the last win for the Mammoths, matching up against Katie Bull. Mawji lost the first game 11-13, came back in the second and third to win 11-4 and 13-11, respectively, and finally took the match by crushing her opponent 11-1 in the final game.

“This match was particularly tough because walking off the court, I and several of my teammates felt disappointed by our individual performances,” Margaret Werner ’21 said. “One positive takeaway is following the match we had a really productive team discussion where we set individual and team goals leading into NESCACs where we’ll hopefully have another shot at beating Bates.”

The Mammoths will compete in the NESCAC Championships after their last regular season game away against Mount Holyoke on Wednesday, Feb. 6.