The mood was heavy on the Pizzitola Center squash courts Saturday afternoon. But this was by no means a result of the prospect of facing No. 4 Yale.
This was Brown's last home match of the season, and the last ever for the six graduating men and women seniors on the team. A day of fierce competition ensued, although the scores suggested otherwise, with the men losing 9-0, making them 3-9 for the season. The women also failed to overcome the Bulldogs, losing their last match of the regular season, 8-1. Their final regular season record is 8-7.
The competition for the men started even before the first ball was played, as the Yale Bulldogs lined up for their introductions on the left side of court one, the preferred side of the Brown men's team. What Jacob Winkler '09 described as "the best intimidation tactic I've ever seen" did nothing to faze the Bears as all players emerged from the locker room ready for a fight.
Despite performing brilliantly to keep his No. 2 opponent on his toes, Adam Greenberg '10 narrowly lost the first match of the day, 4-9, 1-9, 8-10. This was to be the theme of play on Saturday - fantastic displays of effort and determination falling just short to an incredible Yale team. No. 5 Evan Besser '11 and No. 7 Pat Davis '10 also stood out, with both players winning a game off their opponents.
But the day belonged to the three graduating seniors, Chester Hall '08 at No. 9, North Whipple '08 at No. 6 and captain Ed Cerullo '08 at No. 1, who also battled fiercely to claim the second game of his achingly close 6-9, 9-5, 4-9, 7-9 match.
"Despite the loss, I think we all performed really well," Cerullo said. "On a personal note, I was pleased to win a game, although I would have liked to have won the fourth to make the match even closer. Yale is a great team and, overall, I think it was a positive day for us."
Coach Stuart LeGassick assumed a nostalgic tone for the day, saying, "The input of Chester Hall, North Whipple and Ed Cerullo has been invaluable to the team and we're going to miss them tremendously."
The women opened their match with presentations of flowers to their three graduating players, Denia Craig '08 and co-captains Megan Cerullo '08 and Minoo Fadaifard '08. Fadaifard played extremely well, pressing her opponent hard in the first two games, before finally succumbing in the third, 10-8, 9-5, 9-1. Again, despite tremendous efforts from all involved, Yale proved too tough an opponent for the Bears.
But the Bears can comfort themselves. Despite losing the strength and experience of their seniors, a bevy of young and talented players remain on the team, as demonstrated by Lily Cohen '11, the sole victor for Brown on Saturday. Demonstrating incredible vestiges of stamina, Cohen beat her opponent in a five-game thriller, 9-6, 7-9, 5-9, 9-7, 9-3. The members of the team expressed sadness at losing their seniors and their pride to have played alongside such great teammates.
The men still have two more matches to play. Both are tomorrow night in Boston, where they meet Northeastern at 5 p.m. and host MIT at 7 p.m.
