Results
The Fordham squash team opened its 2013-14 season on Saturday, as the Rams traveled to Poughkeepsie for the Hudson Valley Individual Championship, hosted by Vassar College.
Fordham was one of four schools in the Championship, along with Ithaca College, Bard College, and the host school, Vassar College.
The Rams had plenty of successful runs in the two individual draws, as
Kincade Webster advanced to the final of the "A" draw, while
Matthew Crowe won the "B" draw. Along with Webster,
Jeremy Keller made the "A" draw semifinals with
Jimmy Shinnick and
Paul Monaghan made it to the "A" draw quarterfinals.
Webster, who was the #3 seed in the "A" draw, started with a straight sets win over Vassar's Juan Fernandez (11-3, 11-4, 11-2), and followed with a win over Fernandez's teammate Kiet Phun in round two, also in straight sets (11-5, 11-6, 11-7).
In the quarterfinals and semifinals, Webster faced off against his own teammates, Shinnick and Keller. Shinnick made it to the quarterfinals by defeating Bard's Abe Etkin in five sets (8-11, 6-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-5) and his own teammate
Alex LaVersa in five sets (13-11, 11-5, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6). Webster though ended Shinnick's run in straight sets, 11-4, 14-12, 11-6.
Keller's run began with straight set wins over Ithaca's Natasha Jones-Sikes (11-1, 11-7, 13-11) and Ithaca's R.J. Bowman (11-6, 11-5, 11-6). In the quarterfinals, Keller pulled the upset, defeating #2 seed Mark Diffenderfer of Ithaca in four sets, 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 11-2. Webster again would down his fellow teammate in four sets, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, and 11-8 in a very tight match.
The final of the "A" draw put the #3 seed Webster against the top seed in the draw, Vincent Mencotti of Vassar. The match proved to be another tight one, but it would be Mencotti pulling out a three-set win over Webster, 15-13, 11-8, 11-8.
In the "B" draw, Crowe posted three wins to capture the title. He defeated Isabelle Bertram of Vassar in four sets (11-6, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6), Vassar's Sam Hammer in three sets (11-2, 11-5, 11-3), and Carly Scher of Vassar in the final in three sets (11-4, 11-7, 13-11).
The Fordham squash team will next be in action on November 8-10, as the Rams compete in the Navy Round Robin in Annapolis, Maryland.
