Nov. 16, 2010
Annapolis, Md. -
The Fordham University squash team began their season this past weekend with a Round Robin Tournament at the U.S. Naval Academy.
The first match of the tournament was against a very strong Navy A-Team which had a slew of great players. The matches resulted in a 9-0 sweep of the Rams with each player losing in 3 straight sets.
Despite the loss to Navy, the team felt confident playing their next opponent, Washington University, that same day. With little known about their opponents, the Rams were eager to begin play and showed much improvement from their game against Navy. For Fordham, Raymond Chen and Chris Souther won both their matches. Souther was able to win a distinct victory with a 3-0 sweep. Chen battled back and forth with his opponent and was able to emerge victorious with an 11-8 win in the final set. Other strong outings were given by Eli Plangger, Andriy Kulak, and Andrew Craig. Despite the loss, Coach Bryan Patterson was pleased with their outing.
Day 2 of the tournament proved to be an endurance test for the squash team with three straight games. The first opponent of the day was John Hopkins University from Baltimore, Maryland. Once again, the team lost 7-2 to their opponent which was no reflection on how well the Rams played. Strong performances were given by Eli Plangger and Jack O'Brien who were able to win their matches.
In the second game, Fordham faced off against Drexel University. With little to no rest from their first game, the team was given a break with a forfeiture of a match due to Drexel missing a player. Plangger, O'Brien, Souther, and Craig all won their matches which gave Fordham their first win in the tournament with a 5-4 score.
The next and final match of the tournament was against the Navy's B-Team. Despite strong performances from Kulak, O'Brien, Fukomoto, and Grossner, the team lost 8-1. The sole victory for the Rams came from Andrew Grossner's 3-0 sweep.
After the game, Coach Patterson said, "Our hopes were high but once again the opposition proved just too good and with better strategy and control. It was a terrific first squash experience for me and certainly for the team."
The next game for the team will be against Vassar College on Wednesday, November 17.
