HARTFORD, CT -- Today the Williams Men's Squash team had a first round underdog 5-4 win over Chatham in the first round of Nationals. Coming into the match the Ephs were ranked 14th in the nation while Chatham was 11th, and this win guarantees a final national ranking higher than the Ephs previous finish of 13th place last year. It was a team win up and down the ladder, with the Williams men truly sticking to their strengths to win the match. Eph head coachÂ
Zafi Levy said, "Great win for the team, one of the best wins we have ever had. Our bottom and middle courts played really well today to secure the win. We look forward to playing Dartmouth tomorrow."
Starting off the Ephs on the three court system was
John Nicholson, who had a strong start to his match winning the first two games 11-5 and 11-3. However, a small lapse of focus caused him to go down 10-5 in the third, but with his teammates cheering him on he came back and won the third game 12-10. Peirce Henderson dropped the first 11-8, but with some well placed drops and cross court nicks to outplay a speedy opponent, he won the next two 11-8 11-7, before winning the fourth game 12-10 to take the match. And last on in the first round was
Andrew Minnis, who had a brutal five game match. After winning the first 12-10, his opponent won the next two 11-6, 11-5. However, Andrew made a great push in the fourth game and won11-7 but unfortunately lost the fifth game 11-7. This left the score being 2-1 in the Ephs favor at the end of the first round.
Starting off the second round for the Ephs was
Alex Akbari, who didn't get accustomed to the courts in the first game and lost it 11-4. However, he regrouped, found his length and won the next game 11-8. His opponent then went up 10-5 in the second game, but Alex dug deep and got every ball back to come back and win the third 12-10. He then went on the win the fourth game 11-6 to take the match. Next on was
Jack Lee, who won some crucial points to take the first game 12-10 and absolutely dominated in the second game, winning 11-2. He did drop the third take 11-6, but he refocused and won the fourth 11-6. And last on in the second round was Co-Captain
Udai Pal, who won the first 11-9 but unfortunately lost the next three games to a talented opponent. This left the score being 4-2 in Williams's favor going into the third and final round.
Starting off the third and final round was
Asher Leavy. Playing some impressive squash, he won the first game 11-6. The second game went to a 10-10 tiebreak however, but with his team at his back, he gave everything he had and won the second game 14-12. He then went into the third game and dominated the court, winning 11-2 to take the match and to the elation of his teammates. From then on, the matches were best of three style as the match was already over. Co-Captain Will Evans won the first 12-10, but dropped the next two to lose in 3. And last on court was
Cameron Darnell, who lost in a close two games.
It was the start to Nationals weekend that they wanted, and they look forward to their next match against Dartmouth tomorrow.
