When the Amherst women arrived at the George A. Kendall Squash Center at Trinity on Feb. 7, they were greeted by some of the fiercest competition in college-level squash. The home-team and 10-time reigning NESCAC champions the Bantams dominated the tournament and capped off their performance with a 9-0 championship win over Williams.

The Amherst women remained undaunted and fought hard for a fourth-place finish against a strong Middlebury team. This was their highest NESCAC postseason rank to date and an immediate improvement over their fifth-place finish in 2015. To do so, they defeated a Hamilton team they had previously bested in the regular season, 7-2.

This improvement would have been possible had it not been for the purple and white’s tremendous performance against Bowdoin in the first round of the tournament. The Polar Bears were ranked merely one spot below Amherst and posed a formidable threat. After some back and forth, Amherst took control of the match.

With this win in their belt, Trinity was purple and white’s next obstacle. Unfortunately, the squash powerhouse successfully defended their search for the title, and defeated Amherst, 7-2.

Despite this loss, the purple and white were propelled to the third-place match against a Middlebury team they had previously fallen to in the early season. Nevertheless, the Amherst women claimed important wins at the first, second and sixth courts. Kim Krayacich ’18 succeeded in a nail-biter match against the Panthers’ own Saskia Pownall-Gray. In their second bout, the two rivals were tied at 1-1, and Krayachih managed to take the third set and narrowly beat Pownall-Gray.

Rachel Ang ’19 also had an incredible win against Tiffany Hau from Middlebury, similarly only losing one bout. The first-year has shined throughout this season at the No. 2 spot and managed to maintain her cool under the pressure of the postseason spotlight.

The purple and white’s last win came from senior captain Taryn Clary, who has proven her tremendous ability time and time again, even against her toughest opponents.

The Amherst women’s squash team continues their postseason at Yale University Feb. 19-21. While in New Haven, they will compete in the CSA Championship.