By Alexandria Sedlak
Last weekend, Fordham’s squash team competed in the 2015 CSA Team Championship at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Going into the competition, Fordham was ranked No. 39 in the country, placing it in the Chaffee Cup Division. Its opening match on Friday, Feb. 20, was against Johns Hopkins, followed by Northeastern on Saturday and Lehigh on Sunday. By the end of the weekend, Fordham ended its season with an 11-7 record.
The Rams put up a good fight in their first match against Johns Hopkins. Unfortunately, they fell 8-1. All the matches were intense, with many going to a tight four or five sets. The sole win went to Will Wardrop at the no. 3 slot, who put in great effort to win in four games against Johns Hopkins’ Noel Swanson. The team’s loss put it in the consolation bracket for the next day.
Fordham’s second match was against Northeastern. Although the result was the same as the day before, with the Rams falling by a score of 2-7, these matches proved to be rather competitive for both teams. Northeastern won four matches in a close four games and three matches in three games. Fordham came out with wins in their first and third slots. Kincade Webster, playing at the top spot, defeated Northeastern’s T.J. Dyer in three games.
Fordham’s Will Wardrop won his third slot match against Northeastern’s Kadeem Murrell in a grueling five-game match. Having lost the first two games, Wardrop came back to win the next three, securing a point for the Rams. This was not the end of the line for the team, which would compete again on Sunday.
The Fordham Rams played their final match against Lehigh, coming out victorious with a score of 6-3 for the seventh-place match.
Fordham was alredy up on point because Lehigh was down a player, and added to its lead by sweeping the first, third and fifth slots in three game matches.
The next win came at the second slot, with Peter Yuen defeating Lehigh’s Max Liu in four games. John Lennon scored the final point for Fordham, coming back to win a five-game match against Lehigh’s Jack Littlefield after being down two games to one. Ending on this good note, Fordham came home with a finale win and a seventh-place finish.
With the squash season officially over, Fordham is proud of its accomplishments. The team started the season ranked No. 55 in college squash and made a huge jump to finish at No. 39 in the nation.
Throughout all the matches, the players remained competitive and determined, while also displaying great sportsmanship. The Rams constantly showed their Fordham spirit by supporting their teammates through every last point.
One particular player to note is Kincade Webster, who will be a senior next season; he has been on the team for three years, maturing and raising his squash game every year.
He and the rest of the team will be coming back next season hoping to perfect their squash game even more. “All the team had played well over the season and were ably captained by Paul Monaghan and Jimmy Shinnick,” head coach Bryan Patterson said. “We are looking forward to next season and hoping that the team will be strengthened with some good incoming freshmen.”
