STANFORD, Calif. – Competing at home for the first time in two years, the fifth-ranked Stanford women's squash team (3-1) defeated No. 13 Franklin & Marshall College of Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1-5) on Tuesday, 8-0.
All eight Cardinal players swept their matches in three games.
"Home court advantage makes a big difference," said head coach Mark Talbott. "I think you just get used to the courts. They're made of different materials and the temperature on the courts is different. The ball bounces a little different."
Senior Julia Olson, one of our four senior class presidents, agreed.
"Changing times zones is really tough," she said. "These are the courts we grew up playing on and we know where to hit it. It's always nice to have courts you are comfortable playing on and having actual fans. Usually it's just a great group of parents on the East Coast."
Seniors CC Ho and Bailey Bondy, and freshman Casey Wong improved to 4-0 on the season.
Stanford returns to competition next week when it hosts top-ranked Harvard on Thursday at 5 p.m.; Yale on Saturday at noon; and Penn on Sunday at noon. All matches are open to the public and admission is free.
"It's really going to be fun," said Talbott. "We've never had three teams like that come out in the same week. My brother (Dave) is bringing his team (Yale) out here for the first time in 12 years and we've never beaten them. All three matches will have a big effect on our ranking."
Stanford 8, Franklin & Marshall 0
Casey Wong (S) def. Lauren Johnston (F&M), 11-4, 11-6, 11-8
CC Ho (S) def. Ellen Verry (F&M), 11-3, 11-3, 11-7
Sarah Bell (S) def. Katherine Galambos (F&M), 11-5, 11-6, 11-1
Bailey Bondy (S) def. Kate O'Brien (F&M), 11-3, 11-6, 11-3
Tatyanna Dadabbo (S) def. Clare Tompkins (F&M), 11-0, 11-2, 11-1
Grayson Melby (S) def. Melissa Epstein (F&M), 11-5, 11-2, 11-1
Julia Olson (S) def. Liana Zranchev (F&M), 11-2, 11-3, 11-7
Julia Gillette (S) def. Kendyl Kratzer (F&M), 11-2, 11-2, 11-4
