Middlebury Women's Squash Sets Program Record on Tourney Run

The Middlebury College women's squash team isn't just having a good season—they're rewriting their own history books.

The 13th-ranked Panthers secured the fourth seed heading into this weekend's NESCAC Championship tournament after posting an 11-4 overall record and going 7-2 in conference play. But the real story is how they got there: a program-record 10 consecutive victories that stretched from November through January.

"We won 11 of our last 13 matches," reflects the kind of momentum every team dreams about heading into championship weekend. The Panthers face Williams on Saturday morning at Hamilton College in New York, seeking revenge for last year's quarterfinal loss to the same opponent.

Individual excellence fueled the team's historic run. Aanvi Anand leads the squad with 11 wins this season, including seven straight victories after moving up to the number two position. Sabrina Schwarz joined the team in January and immediately caught fire, posting a 10-1 record with eight consecutive wins and seven sweeps.

The depth goes beyond the top players. Lillian Showalter rattled off nine straight wins during her season, finishing 10-4 overall. Caroline Didden, Madeline Schwarz, Lucy Ronda, and Mariana Reedich all contributed winning records throughout the lineup.

Why This Inspires

This team's journey represents something bigger than squash scores. Middlebury has appeared in 12 conference semifinals over the years but claimed just one finals appearance back in 2011. They're the program that kept showing up, kept improving, and finally broke through with a record-setting winning streak at exactly the right time.

The Panthers already showed they can beat this weekend's opponents, taking down Williams 7-2 back in January to snap the Ephs' four-match winning streak in the series. With 28 all-time NESCAC Tournament victories—third most in conference history—Middlebury has been knocking on the door for years.

Now they're walking through it with their best team ever. Nine players with winning records, a historic streak behind them, and a quarterfinal matchup against a team they've already beaten this season. Saturday morning's 10 a.m. match could mark the beginning of Middlebury's first conference championship run in program history.

Sometimes patience and persistence pay off in a single spectacular season.