Men's Squash 11/24/2024 10:14:00 PM

Men's Squash Loses to Cornell and Defeats Hamilton in a Tough Doubleheader

Ithaca, NY & Clinton, NY — Williams Men's Squash started their Sunday morning off playing #9 Cornell University, falling 7-2. The Ephs then drove up to Clinton, NY to face Hamilton, winning swiftly 9-0. The Ephs battled against Cornell, and then pushed hard mentally and physically to dispatch Hamilton. Eph head coach Hesham Aly said that "I was proud of the way the guys fought against Cornell and taking care of business at Hamilton after a two and a half hour bus ride."

First up against Cornell was co-captain Jack Lee, who remained calm and composed despite a raucous home crowd and his opponent's antics to win 3-1. In the mid-court, Pierce Henderson continued to fight for the team and play through an injury, but unfortunately lost in three. Rafay Syed lost in a close three. Nick Agger and Andrew Minnis played against talented opponents and lost in three. Alex Akbari lost in a tightly contested four games, after winning the first game. First-year Ty Green picked up a win for the Ephs at the #8 spot, winning the first two games, but then dropped the next two after a string of errors. Green was able to refocus in the fifth and held off his opponent to win 11-9. The other two first-years, Himanshu Pannu and Will Newton fought really hard, both winning the first games, but ultimately lost in a close four.

The team then immediately jumped on the bus to drive up to Hamilton, arriving twenty minutes before the match was scheduled to start. Despite heavy legs and a shortened warm up, the Ephs had a great showing up and down the ladder, only dropping one game across the entire board. Andrew Minnis, Nick Agger, Jack Lee, Himanshu Pannu, and John Nicholson won clinically in three and under twenty-five minutes. Ty Green, Will Newton, and Rafay Syed battled through slow starts but were all able to win 3-0. Leonard Lee fought through an injury in the second game to pull it out in four games.

Overall, it was a good first weekend of squash for the purple cows. The team was able to claim vengeance over a closely ranked Western Ontario team, push a top-ranked Cornell squad, and end with a clean 9-0 victory over Hamilton. Eph head coach Hesham Aly noted that "We were right with the Cornell guys but just needed that extra push in the middle of the games." Cardio and playing at a higher pace will be a priority for the Ephs after they return from Thanksgiving.

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