Ephs Fall to Bates Bobcats 6-3

LEWISTON. MAINE -- In a highly anticipated matchup between two premier NESCAC squash teams, the Williams men came up a little short at Bates.

Bates fell to a strong Middlebury team 5-4 the day before, so the Ephs knew the match would be tough. Right from the beginning, things did not look promising for Williams. In the first round of matches, Mason Elizondo '18 (#9) and Varun Sharma '16 (#6) both went down 2-0 quickly. This put pressure on Galen Squiers '16 (#3), as the Ephs knew that Bates's two All-Americans at the top of the lineup and they would most likely be able to clinch the match for Bates if Williams lost these three. Squiers lost the first game, but then battled back in the second, losing narrowly on a few unlucky shots. At this point, both Elizondo and Sharma lost the third and final game of their matches, putting Bates up 2-0.

Squiers showed great leadership and determination, as he did not give up and saved a sliver of hope for Williams by winning the third game. Unfortunately, he was unable to win the third and Bates went up 3-0. Eph head coach Zafi Levy said about his match: "Galen did exactly what I expect out of a senior captain. He played great squash, and came out gunning for his opponent. Unfortunately he did not get the result he and the team would've liked, but I was extremely happy with the way he played." 

At this point in the match, the Williams team knew that a miracle would need to occur in order for them to win. The second round started off with Michael Petrick '16 (#5) giving a stellar performance and dominating a strong Bates opponent by winning in a steady three games. Unforunately, Jamie Havran '18 (#8) and John Fitzgerald '19 (#2) both lost in three games, clinching the match for Bates and giving them a 5-1 lead.

In the final round, the Williams team got two strong performances out of David Pincus '19 (#7) and John Shuck '17 (#4) to bring the match to 5-3. Both players played extremely well, and did not let the crowd doubt that they would win their matches for even a point. Jamie Ruggiero '17 (#1) lost at the top spot on the ladder to a truly stellar opponent. 

Coach Levy said about the match: "Today was a dissappointing loss. Our entire team didn't come to play and it cost us the match. We are a better team than this result showed, and I am looking forward to playing them at NESCACs, so we can play up to our true potential."

The Ephs continue the road trip tomorrow against the other two Maine schools, Colby and Bowdoin.