Williamstown, MA— February 15 in front of a raucous crowd of friends and families, the Williams Men's Squash Team did something that had not been accomplished for seventeen years, beating #10 ranked Dartmouth 5-4 in one that will go down in the history books within The Simon Squash Center. Sophomore
Nick Agger clinched the winning match for the Ephs, beating Dartmouth's Mac Aube in a clinical three games. Eph head coach
Hesham Aly said, "I could not be prouder of this team. When I showed up here a year and a half ago the first thing that I was told was to 'Beat Dartmouth.' I'm so happy that we have finally accomplished this after so many heart breakers." Co-captain
Andrew Minnis shared his thoughts "This is a culmination of everything that we have worked for over the past four years. It couldn't have been more fitting to get this win on senior day."
Co-Captain Jack Lee in the #3 position started off the afternoon for the Ephs on the three court system. He managed to win the first two games in tight fashion. But his opponent switched up his game plan and managed to take the next two easily. The fifth game was back and forth all the way up to the last couple points, where Lee had a chance to win it, but was given some very unfortunate calls by the Dartmouth ref, essentially deciding the match. Senior Pierce Henderson made his return to the lineup in the #9 spot for the first time in three weeks refusing to let a prior injury keep him off the court. He played the first two games like he hadn't missed a beat, going up 2-0. But some errors by Henderson and some better play by his opponent had him drop the third game. Henderson regrouped and was able to take the fourth in thrilling fashion, getting the Ephs on the board. In the #5 position, Junior Alex Akbari played a marathon hour and a half four game match, but unfortunately lost 3-1.
The Ephs found themselves down 2-1 in the match score, but first-year Ty Green in the #8 position played with poise and passion, exciting an energized crowd to win 3-1 and even out the score at 2 all. Minnis, leading the team in the #1 position was next up. Minnis played lights out the first two games using his physicality and tenacity to wear his opponent down. However, his opponent recovered well, winning the next two games. It all came down to the fifth game where Minnis left it all out on court but just fell short, losing 3-2. First year Himanshu Pannu went back and forth with his opponent and managed to claw it out 15-13 in the fourth game to win 3-1.
The match score stood deadlocked at 3-3 when the final round of matches started. Fellow first year Will Newton continued the streak of domination from the newcomers, winning decisively 3-0 and swinging the momentum in Williams' favor. Needing just one more match to win, Agger and Junior Asher Leavy were the last of the Ephs on court. Leavy, in the #4 spot had a very close match with his opponent, but unfortunately just fell short in the last game. With the match tied at 4-4, it all came down to Agger. He executed his game plan perfectly, using a combination of tight drops, high lobs, and dying length to limit his tall opponent's reach and size. He won the first game 11-4 and never looked back, winning the next two games 11-7, 11-7 without ever giving up the lead. The packed Simon Center exploded and Eph Men's Squash history was made.
