Springside squash unbeaten at the interlude

by TOM UTESCHER

Despite the absence of their top player for two of the last three matches, the racquetwomen of Springside School prevailed in all three bouts on the road to enter the holiday break with a record of 6-0.

At the Germantown Cricket Club on Dec. 8, the Lions topped host Germantown Friends School, 5-2, and on the following afternoon Springside swept Girls Inter-Ac League rival Baldwin, 7-0. The Lions' regular number one, junior Emery Maine, missed both of those matches due to illness, but she was back in action for a December 14 encounter at Lawrenceville School, where Springside got by the Lady Larries, 4-3.

At Germantown, Allie Dalglish moved up to number one and came away a 3-0 winner, while Anna Heilbrun performed in the second spot and pulled out a 3-2 victory. The Tigers picked up their two individual wins courtesy of 3-0 efforts by the Tilney sisters, Avery (number three) and Carolyn (number four).

Springside's Riley Jacoby and Elspeth Lodge emerged on top with 3-2 scores at number five and six, respectively. Leslie Jacoby took the number seven match in three straight games.

The Baldwin match provided little drama, but that was not the case at Lawrenceville in the Lions' last engagement of 2004. When Springside is at full strength, Lodge, Riley Jacoby and Nina Testa tend to beat one another in a circular pattern during team challenge matches, and they shift around amongst the fifth through seventh spots on the ladder.

Lodge was the number seven for the Lawrenceville tilt, and she provided the only win for Springside in the last four positions, topping the hosts' Ali Hoffman 3-1.

Jacoby came out on the short end of a four-game match at number six, while teammates Testa (five) and Alison Curry (four) were each edged out, 2-3. Heilbrun gave the locals a 3-1 win in the three spot, and at number one it was Maine, 3-0, over sophomore Emery Holton, who played for the Springside varsity as an eighth grader before changing over to Lawrenceville last year.

The team score was 3-3 with the number two's still out on the court, but the Lions had no worries as Dalglish took out Jenn Warden, 3-0, to put Springside over the top.