George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Men vs. Virginia (at Navy)
Women's Squash Starts New Program, Men Defeat Virginia
1/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Squash
Jan. 22, 2003
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington men's squash team split weekend matches, losing 3-6 to No. 24 Rochester and then defeating Virginia, 6-3. The women's team played their first-ever matches in the program's history in two weekend losses. Playing their most difficult matches of the season, against Bowdoin and Pennsylvania, the women's team lost 0-9 in both contests.
Lisa Cahan (Dover, MA/Noble and Greenough) did win the first game in Colonials women's squash history when she won the opening game in her match against Bowdoin. The women have their next two matches on Saturday, February 1 when they play Cornell at 11:00 am and Navy's JV squad at 1:00 pm. Both contests will be held at the United States Naval Academy.
The Colonials men's squash team went into their match against No. 24 Rochester as the underdogs in Sunday's contest held at Navy, in Annapolis, MD. While the Colonials were ultimately overpowered, they jumped out to a quick start when their two-man Greg Vernick (West Roxbury, MA/Milton Academy) convincingly won his match, 3-1. Jake Greenbaum (Bala Cynwyd, PA/Shipley School) did even better at the eight-spot with a straight-set win, 3-0. Despite this promising start, the Colonials dropped their next four matches. Mike Greenwald (Brookline, MA/St. Marks) pulled out a five-set victory, 3-2, but it was too little, too late as the Colonials lost 3-6 to Rochester.
Next up for the Colonials was a club team from Virginia that had several top athletes from strong Virginia prep school programs. With no easy matches among them, the Colonials again sprang to an early lead with another Vernick victory. Greenwald, suffering from the morning match and blisters, let his match slip away in a 10-8 fourth game, but the Colonials had already wrapped up the match with a 6-3 victory over Virginia.
The next test for the men's squad in their inaugural season will come when they have four matches at Haverford on Saturday, February 1. They are scheduled to play Bard, Penn State, Fordham and Johns Hopkins. As the season approaches the home stretch, the team is still focused on conditioning and preparing for the season-ending tournament. They may even be paired against Rochester for what would surely be an exciting rematch.
