Ephs Flawless Against Hamilton, Conn

NEW HAVEN, CT - The Williams men added another pair of 9-0 wins over Hamilton and Conn College following yesterday's 9-0 triumph over Dickinson to cap off a strong opening weekend of squash at Yale's Brady Squash Center. With the two wins today the Ephs improved to 3-1 on the year and extended their win streak to three.

In the first match of the day against Hamilton, junior Wyatt Khosrowshahi (#1), senior co-captain Will Means (#5), and freshman Will Comyns (#8) led the charge in the first wave of play for the Ephs. Means and Comyns each put in solid performances en route to 3-0 wins. Khosrowshahi, up against a talented freshman recruit from Hamilton, found himself 2-0 down before battling back to level the score at 2-2. At the end of a brutal fifth game, Khosrowshahi emerged victorious by a marathon 13-11 scoreline to keep the Continentals off the scoreboard.

Following on were sophomore Jacob Bassil (#2), senior co-captain Carl Shuck (#6), and sophomore Nilay Neelaveni (#9). Bassil and Shuck each found their stride early and never let up, delivering a pair of three game victories. Carrying a 2-0 lead, Neelaveni dug himself into a 10-7 hole in the third game, but clutched it out to finish the match for his first collegiate win.

Rounding out the morning's play were freshman Udai Pal (#3), junior AJ Solecki (#4), and freshman Charles "Chas" Merrill (#7). All three came out firing, and delivered three more 3-0 victories to polish off the 9-0 scoreline.

The order of play remained the same for the afternoon's match. Khosrowshahi found things a little easier the second time around, and got things rolling with a solid 3-0 win. Means continued on his strong play earlier in the day to add another three gamer to the cause. At #8, senior David Pincus also won in three.

Struggling with a slight injury, Bassil had to dig deep but battled to a 3-1 win. Shuck continued his relentless play from the morning and won 3-0 once again. Comyns also added a three game triumph, his second of the day.

To wrap up the day's play, Pal, Solecki, and Merrill all won in three with dominant showings.

Standout freshman Udai Pal had this to say following the weekend's play: "Coming in I did not know what to expect from our first weekend of matches, but the effort and energy from the team was excellent throughout. I'm really pleased with both my and the team's play at the moment and I look forward to seeing what we can do for the rest of the season. Hungry dogs run faster and we showed that sort of grit this weekend."

Coach Blair Dils added: "This weekend was a great start for the men. The quality in the team is apparent, and combine that with some of the flashes of toughness we saw this weekend and I think we've got something special. I'm really excited to see what this group can do in the coming months."

The Ephs will head home for Thanksgiving this week, before taking the court again at Columbia on December 6.