Men’s Squash Finishes 17th Nationally

The Middlebury men’s squash team finished their season with three resounding wins over Connecticut College, Bowdoin, and Wesleyan this past weekend at the national championship tournament at Yale University. Coming into the weekend ranked 17th nationally, the Panthers qualified for entrance into the Summers Cup (C division) to compete in a tournament against seven other highly competitive teams.

The Panthers defeated the Conn. College Camels in their quarterfinal matchup by a match score of 7-2. The Panthers were able to garner wins in their no. 2 - no. 7 seed matches, as well as their no. 9 seed match. Middlebury’s no. 2 seed Parker Hurst ’14 was able to defeat his Camel opponent Brian Mullen in five sets.

After defeating Conn. College on Friday, Feb. 22, the Panthers moved onto their semifinal matchup against Bowdoin on Saturday, Feb. 23. The Panthers were able to defeat the Bears by a match score of 8-1.

Finally the Panthers moved onto the Summers Cup final match against fellow NESCAC competitor Wesleyan. Again, the Panthers were able to come to a quick and easy victory against their Cardinal opponent, winning by a match score of 7-2. With this win in the finals, Middlebury was able to finish the season ranked 17 in the nation out of a total of 66 teams.

Over the course of the weekend, seven of the nine Middlebury players were able to remain undefeated. This included no. 2 seed Spencer Hurst ’13, no. 4 seed Will Moore ’14, no. 6 seed Robert Galluccio ’15, no. 7 seed Harrison Croll ’16, no. 9 seed Willy Clarke ’15 and no. 10 seed Will Hanley ’15. Although the no. 3 seed Spencer Hurst ’13 was unable to finish completely undefeated, he lost only one match which went into four games.

Playing all NESCAC teams in nationals can be a challenge, especially when the team had played all three opponents before.

“Playing three NESCAC teams that we had previously played this year is always challenging,” said Spencer Hurst. “However, after beating Connecticut College and Bowdoin, we were able to stifle a red hot Wesleyan team in the finals which was huge. Everyone on the team brought their best for the three matches and left it all on the court. Overall, it was a great feeling to end the year with three straight victories.”

With top-seeded players graduating, Jay Dolan ’13 and Spencer Hurst, the no. 1 and no. 3 seed, respectively, Middlebury will have to rely on their depth to continue their success in the years to come.