Men’s squash rides its five-game winning streak into the weekend

The Middlebury men’s squash team had another great weekend. On Jan. 15 and 16 they faced off against Amherst –– ranked 19th, Hobart –– ranked 25th –– and Hamilton –– ranked 21st. The Panthers are ranked 17th. The Panther’s winning streak continues with their third, fourth and fifth wins this weekend. They are well on their way to matching their record-breaking record last season of 20 wins and only seven losses. The Middlebury men did an amazing job individually as well, winning 26 out of 27 matches. In years past, the matches against these teams were much closer than this year, indicative of the gains the Panthers have made on the court.
On Saturday, Middlebury started the day playing against Amherst, and the Panthers won 8-1. Last year when Middlebury played Amherst, they had a much closer game and won 5-4 twice, and 7-2 once. Jay Dolan ’13, Parker Hurst ’14, Brian Cady ’11, Spencer Hurst ’13, Cooper Redpath ’14, Addi Disesa ’12, Valentin Quan ’12 and Will Moore ’14 won their respective matches. Also playing in the top nine was Chris Ivsin ’14. Exhibition players Trevor Truog ’14 and Will Piekos ’11 also won their matches against Amherst.
The Panthers played Hobart on Saturday as well, winning easily 9-0. Last year, in another close game, they won 6-3. The entire ladder won their matches, as well as the Panthers’ exhibition player, Piekos.
On Sunday morning, Middlebury defeated Hamilton, once again winning all nine matches and sweeping their opponents. Last year, Middlebury played Hamilton twice, winning 7-2 each time. Dolan, Hurst, Cady, Hurst, Redpath, Disesa, Ivsin, Quan and Truog all won their matches against Hamilton. Piekos won another exhibition match. Reeve Waud ’13 also played an exhibition match, but fell to Hamilton’s Munschauer.
In all three games, the top nine men included several freshman. The rookie players won many of their matches, contributing to the Middlebury victories. Women’s team teammate, Molly Hubbard ’13, commented, “The men’s team did a great job this weekend. They have a really young team, the freshman men really played well.” Coming up next weekend, the men’s team will see Bates, George Washington, Brown, and Mt. Holyoke.