LEWISTON, ME – Today the mighty Ephs made the six hour trek up to Bates where they were victorious 7-2. Although they played in front of many enthusiastic home supporters, Williams was able to stay clam under pressure and win some key matches to swing the momentum in their favor. Co-Captain Will Evans noted, "We were able to come in and stay disciplined when we needed to. The underclassmen showed great resilience in pressure situations and we were able to come through with a great team win against a tough Bates team."
Starting off for the Ephs on the three-court system was first year
Asher Leavy. By using both his power and dexterity he was able to control the court, leading him to a 3-1 victory. Next up was co-captain Will Evans, who wore down his opponent using tight drives and excellent retrieval skills to win 3-0. And finishing off the first round for the Ephs was
Alex Akbari, who won a brutal hour and 12 minute five game match. After losing 11-9 in the first due to his opponents shot making ability, Alex regrouped, mitigated his opponent's shots and won the next two games. However, a lapse of focus cost him the fourth game. The momentum of the whole match was riding on Alex's shoulders, and he managed to squeeze out an 11-9 victory in the fifth.
After the strong 3-0 start from the first round, the Ephs were eager to capitalize on this lead.
Pierce Henderson started the second round with a tight first game, managing to come back from 10-8 down to win 12-10 in the first. Unfortunately he lost the second game in another 12-10 tiebreak, but his opponent broke down from the relentless pressure and Pierce won the next two games to win the match 3-1.
Andrew Minnis had an extremely tight three game match, with the first and second game going to a tiebreak. However, Bates's glass court acted as a major home field advantage, which his opponent was able to use and win the crucial points, causing Andrew to lose 3-0. And last up in the second round for the Ephs was
John Nicholson, who lost a long five set match. After going up 2-0, he lost some quality in his hitting, which allowed his opponent to take the momentum and win the next three games.
Starting off for the Ephs in the third round of matches was
Jack Lee, who secured the victory for Williams with a 3-0 win over his opponent. Co-Captain
Udai Pal played some incredible squash today, managing to win the third five game match of the day. After losing the first 11-6, he rethought his tactics and won 13-11 in the second. His opponent managed to take the third game 11-7, but Udai showed no relenting, and won the next to games 11-9, 11-2. And last up for the Ephs was Cameron (Birdman) Darnell. Birdman flew us home today, not letting his opponent out of his claws until he won 3-0, after which several "caw-caws" were heard.
The final score was 7-2 in the Ephs favor, with some of the wins for Williams requiring grit and determination from freshman and seniors alike. The Ephs hope to bring the same unwavering mentality to their match tomorrow at Bowdoin.
