WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Today the Williams Men's team defeated Tufts in a convincing 7-2 win, defending their home territory for the second time this week. With friends and family coming from afar to watch the biggest match of the season so far, the excitement in the air was palpable. Today the Ephs played with intensity up and down the ladder, winning several close and crucial five game matches to swing the victory in their favor.
Right from the start, the match was a close one, with each player going to five with his opponent in the first round. Starting off the first round on the three-court system was
Pierce Henderson, who used every shot in his toolbox during his nail-biting match. After a decisive first game, a lack of concentration and a couple errors lost him the next two games. However, he was determined to have the first point on the board be in Williams' favor, and he won the next two games to take the match. Next up was
Cameron Darnell, who also battled back from being 2-1 down, using every fall bike session and control of the court to wear down his opponent. And last on was
Andrew Minnis, who played some incredibly accurate squash to take the first two games. However, a large push from his opponent allowed him to take the next two games. Andrew then fought valiantly in the fifth game, earning two match balls, but unfortunately could not convert them and fell 13-11 in the fifth.
Starting off the second round of matches was Co-Captain
Udai Pal. In front of a frenzied home crowd, he swept his opponent in three games. With his dominant win, he set the tone that inched the rest of the Williams team closer to victory in the second round.
Jack Lee followed suit, expertly dispatching his opponent in three games.
John Nicholson, however, fell behind by two games, only to claw his way back to bring the decider match to a fifth game. Hitting some tight lengths and clean drop shots, coupled by a few heart-stopping retrievals, he convincingly closed out the game, the match, and the series.
Starting off the third round of matches was Co-Captain Will Evans, who clinically took down his opponent in three games.
Asher Leavy, who is on a hot streak as of late, continued his momentum by defeating his opponent in another swift, but tight, three games. The final match of the day was played by
Alex Akbari, who lost in four games. The game was incredibly physical, with his opponent making use of every stroke and no-let call to squirm his way to victory.
It was a very convincing win for Williams, especially against a team ranked only one spot higher than them nationally. Co-Captain
Udai Pal said "I am extremely happy and proud of the team for this result, but we must not get complacent with bigger matches to come". Their training will resume on Monday, with more motivation than before to reach their top ten finish at National goal.
