WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Today the Men's Squash Team kicked off their second half of the season with an 8-1 victory over Franklin and Marshall. After welcoming back
Jack Lee,
Pierce Henderson, and
Cameron Darnell from their studies abroad, the team was eager to showcase their skills. Interim Head Coach
Hesham Aly said that "we expected a tough match today, and we knew that to win we would have to be mentally prepared for a battle".
Today's match was played on the three court system. Starting off the Ephs was John Nicholson, who used a fast pace to win his match in three games. Next up was Alex Akbari, who won the first game 11-5. He kept his cool in the second and won 12-10, and then closed out the third 11-5. Last in the first round was Co-Captain Andrew Minnis, who won the first game, but unfortunately ended up losing 3-1.
Starting off the second round for the Ephs was first year Hudson Lin, who swiftly won in 3 games. Next up was Asher Leavy, who won one of the five game matches today. After going down 10-6 in the first game, he refocused and won the next 6 points to take the first game. Unfortunately he dropped the next two games, but he regrouped and used his stamina to win his match in 5. Last up in the second round was first-year Nick Agger, who stuck to his game plan in the first game and won 11-6, but a few errors cost him the second game. However he got back on track and won 3-1.
And starting off the last round of matches for the day was Pierce Henderson, who won the other five game match for Williams. He started strong, utilizing his racket skills to win the first two games, but unfortunately lost the next two. However, he regrouped and made one last push to handily take the fifth game and win his match 3-2. Next up was Jack Lee, who wore his opponent down with his ball control. He won in three games, with the score of the last one being a decisive 11-0. And last up for the Ephs was Co-Captain Will Evans, who stuck to his game plan and won the first two games, but a slight lapse cost him the third. However, he regrouped and used his physicality to win the fourth game, winning the match 3-1.
It was a solid win for Williams to start off the new year. They look ahead to their home match against Navy tomorrow.
