Ephs fall to Naval Academy 6-3

ANNAPOLIS, MD -- Today, the Williams team traveled to Navy for what they knew would be a tough contest. The match would be played in the three-court system, and every single match was close.

In the first round of matches, Jamie Havran '18 (#9) lost in a close three games to a very strong opponent. On the middle court, John Shuck '17 (#6) won the first two games convincingly and split the next two to take the match and even the match score at one. Finally Chris Wilkinson '15 (#3) battled from being down 2-1 and 9-4 in the fourth to take his opponent to a fifth game. Unfortunately, he lost 11-9 in the fifth after what everyone watching said was a great squash match. 

The second round of matches was also very close. Conor McClintock '15 (#8) came back from being down 2-0 to take a game and extend the fourth, but ultimately lost. On the middle court, Galen Squiers '16 (#5) took the first and third games convincingly while losing the second and fourth games. After being down 8-2 in the fifth, he was able to pull it back to 8-8, but unfortunately was unable to close the game out and lost 11-8. Coach Zafi Levy stated: "Galen played well today. He came just short but gave everything he had so I can only be proud of his effort." On the top court, Kevin Chen '15 (#2) played through injury but lost in a close three games, securing a victory for the Naval Academy.

The Ephs did not give up, however, and each of the next three matches showed promise for Williams. Varun Sharma '16 (#7) cruised to victory in three games on the third court, while Jamie Ruggiero '17 (#1) also downed his opponent in three games. On the middle court, Kai Graham '15 (#4) lost in a close four games, securing a 6-3 win for the Naval Academy. In the exhibition match, Andrew Litvin '18 (#10) lost in a close three games as well. 

The Ephs now have a 10-day break during which they will focus on preparing for tough matches with Middlebury, Brown, Drexel, Amherst and Wesleyan next Wednesday-Sunday.