Squash losses three on road trip | The Triangle

Squash losses three on road trip

As they headed into the end of the fall portion of their respective seasons, the expectation for the Drexel men’s and women’s squash teams was that the early-season woes that had befallen them would, hopefully, subside.

Such did not happen.

Those aforementioned woes continued for the men and women, as their four-match stretch in New England from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 against Amherst College, Williams College, Trinity College and Middlebury College was a considerably tough one, with the men’s only victory coming in a 6-3 result against Amherst and the women winning none.

The 6-3 win for the men at Amherst came primarily from the contributions of five of their top six players, as seeds 2 through 6 — junior Justin Singh and freshmen Binura Jayasuriya, Mike Dolente, Mark Kauf and Joey Gingold — all won their individual matches. The wins from Singh, Kauf and Gingold all came in straight sets, while Jayasuriya’s win came in a dramatic five set match (11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-13 and 11-6).

The women’s side lost to Amherst by the same 6-3 score that their male counterparts won by, though they did get wins from freshmen Damindhi Udangawa at the No. 1 position, Kaitlyn Money at No. 2 and Lauren Rahauser at No.6. Rahauser’s win was notable in that she came back from a 0-2 deficit in order to do so, ultimately winning 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.

However, the next three matches against Williams, Trinity, and Middlebury for the Dragons saw both sides go winless. The men lost 8-1 in quick succession to Williams and Trinity Dec. 1 on Williams’ home courts, and they lost a tough 5-4 match a day later at Middlebury.

On the other side, the women also had a rough time of it against Williams and Trinity, getting blanked 9-0 by both while losing 7-2 at Middlebury. Drexel got wins at the top two positions in that match from Udangawa at No. 1 and Money at No. 2.

In what has been a relatively difficult portion of the season, both sides will look ahead to the winter break as a means of replenishment and renewal. The women’s side, now 1-7, is already at its break period, while the men’s side, currently at 2-6, will play one more match Dec. 7 at home against the 17th-ranked United States Naval Academy before breaking for the winter.