NEW HAVEN, Conn. - As a freshman playing in the #1 spot on a college men's squash team, you're really nothing more than a sacrificial lamb. You play the other team's best player in every match, and it's usually a seasoned upperclassman.
That would explain
Rhys Nordstrom's 5-12 record going into Bard's final match of the 2015-16 season on Sunday, in the Serues Cup Consolation Championship at the College Squash Association Team Nationals.
As rare as it for a freshman to play #1, it's even more rare for a freshman #1 to have the chance to clinch a match. But Nordstrom made the most of his one opportunity, defeating Sam Henderson in an epic 3-11, 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 match to lock up Bard's fifth win in a 5-4 victory over Boston College.
It capped an historic season for Bard, which finished the season at 11-8. No Bard team had won more than eight games in a season before.
Nordstrom played the hero, but there were others.
Jack Smith (#3) and
Vikramaditya Joshi (#8) gave Bard a 2-0 lead. Then
Satwik Srikrishnan, down two games to none at #9, rallied to win 5-11, 9-11, 11-4, 12-10 and 12-0 to make it 3-0. His match was just as important as Nordstrom's was - it's just that the chronology of matches put Nordstrom in the clinching role.
A bit later,
Asad Hashmi won in four at #8, but Boston College cut Bard's lead to 4-2 with Nordstrom out there and trailing 5-1 in the fifth and deciding game. He somehow pulled it out, and it a good thing he did, because Boston College prevailed in four games at #7 and in five games at #4. Phew!
For seniors Smith and Hashmi, this was their final match. But they can leave Bard knowing that they were part of the team that turned the squash program around at Bard - and all future teams will have to win more than 11 matches in a season to break the record they set with their teammates.
Bard 5, Boston College 41.
Rhys Nordstrom (Bard) def. Samuel Henderson 3-11, 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9
2. Charlie Cassoli (Boston) def.
Ayateru Maeda 11-7, 12-10, 11-3
3.
Jack Smith (Bard) def. Chris Tozzi 11-9, 11-7, 12-10
4. Robbie Fischer (Boston) def.
Julian Dime 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-14, 11-7
5. Colton Hardman (Boston) def.
Abe Etkin 11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 9-11, 11-8
6.
Vikramaditya Joshi (Bard) def. Elliott O'Brien 11-6, 11-7, 11-4
7. Robert Bohn (Boston) def.
Pranjal Ghate 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 13-11
8.
Asad Hashmi (Bard) def. Tyler O'Neill 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9
9.
Satwik Srikrishnan (Bard) def. Murphey Harmon 5-11, 9-11, 11-4, 12-10, 12-10
