WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College men's squash team took care of business, earning a 9-0 win over Colby College at the Simon Squash Center on Saturday afternoon.
While the match score was firmly in the Ephs' favor, a number of excellent individual performances won the day for Williams, as four of the matches went to five games.
The match started out firmly in favor of the Ephs, as the bottom of the ladder earned a pair of quick victories, with Ty Green winning 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-1) at #7 and Rafay Syed winning 3-0 (11-1, 11-3, 11-0) at #9 before either of the first matches on the other two courts had concluded.
On Court 2, Williams' #6, first-year Leighton Calhoun, battled back from a 2-1 deficit and forced a fifth game, and then captured the decisive game to give the Ephs a 3-0 advantage. The game scores were 11-4, 10-12, 11-13, 11-9, 11-8 and the match lasted an hour and 13 minutes.
Meanwhile, on Court 1, #1 Nick Agger also came from behind to force a fifth game, and also won under pressure, taking the decider by an 11-6 score. Agger, who faces a tough job in every match against some of the top players in NESCAC and the CSA, was rewarded for his hard work with a 12-10, 4-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-6 win in 1 hour and 22 minutes.
The #11-ranked Ephs then clinched the match over #20 Colby when Dylan Scott won 3-0 (11-7, 11-1, 11-9) at #8 on the ladder, again showing the strong depth Williams has to earn straightforward victories at the lower spots.
Himanshu Pannu at #2 and Will Newton at #5 were the next winners for Williams, both taking five games and coming from 2-1 deficits to win. Pannu won 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, and Newton won 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7.
The final matches of the day were somewhat more straightforward for Williams, with Alex Akbari winning 3-1 (17-15, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8), and Asher Leavy winning 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-9).
The Ephs will head right back to work on Sunday afternoon, this time facing #23 Bowdoin College. The match will start at 11 a.m. at the Simon Squash Center.
