Ephs Topped by Dartmouth in Tight Contest

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - In their first home match of the season, the Ephs (3-3) lost a close 7-2 match to Dartmouth (1-2) to start the New Year.

Following some recent lineup movement, first on court for the Ephs were sophomore Jacob Bassil (#1), and senior co-captains Carl Shuck (#4) and Claude Smith (#9). Bassil and Smith each struggled to find a rhythm throughout, suffering 3-0 defeats. Shuck contested a back and forth affair, taking the first game before going down 2-1, only to take it into a fifth game, but fell just short in the deciding moment and lost 3-2.

Following on were seniors Will Means (#2) and David Pincus (#8), joined by junior AJ Solecki (#6). Pincus and Solecki faced solid opponents and were beaten 3-0. Means, in similar fashion to Shuck, found himself locked in a brilliant battle, but unfortunately was similarly defeated in the deciding fifth.

Last on were junior Wyatt Khosrowshahi (#3), as well as fellow freshmen Udai Pal (#5) and Charles "Chas" Merrill (#7). Merrill pushed his opponent to 10-10 scorelines in the first couple games, but eventually lost both following by a third to fall 3-0. In one of the last matches on court, Pal played excellent squash and demonstated the sort of impressive racquetwork he is known for en route to a convincing 3-0 win. Khosrowshahi added another win for the Ephs in a closer four game affair, winning the first two before closing the match in the fourth. These victories were typical of reliably strong early season performances from Pal (5-1) and Khosrowshahi (4-2), who own two of the best records on the team.

The Ephs look forward to one of their biggest matches of the season at home to rivals Middlebury on Sunday, at 3pm at the Simon Squash Center.