The Panther men played at home this weekend and had yet another great weekend on the squash court, winning three out of the five matches they played. The Middlebury men started the weekend off against ninth ranked Dartmouth, who proved to be a formidable match for the Panthers. The men fell 9-0 but rallied and came back strong when they played UVM, taking them down 8 to 1. The men continued on strong to beat Bard College 9-0, and despite losing to Williams 7-2, they once again beat University of Vermont 8-1. This was a challenging line up for the Panthers, but they were able to rise to the occasion and demonstrate their skill and depth against every team they played.
Parker Hurst ’14 and Addi DiSesa ’12 had a great weekend, breaking through the purple wall for Middlebury in bringing the men’s squash team its first ever victories against Williams in their individual matches. DiSesa commented on this amazing victory for the Middlebury men and its implications for the future.
“In all likelihood we will play Williams again in two weeks in the first round of the College Squash Association nationals at Harvard. “When we play them again, I am sure that our confidence level will be much higher than it was heading into Sunday’s match.” DiSesa said.
“As I mentioned earlier, our team has improved each time out. I don’t expect our next match will be any different. We can do some really great things this season. In many ways, this has been the best men’s squash season ever for Middlebury. It’s truly an honor and privilege to be a part of it.”
Parker ’14 also had an incredible match against Dartmouth’s third ranked player, dragging the game out to five matches before ultimately falling. Valentin Quan ’11, Middlebury’s number one on the ladder, also had a great weekend, and played a great match against Williams, drawing it out to five games before losing.
Other notable matches include victories by Will Piekos ’11, Reeve Waud ’13, Mark Sorrentino ’11, Phillip Goldstein ’14, Dan Prior ’14, Maurtis Pot ’11, Nick Seshadri ’14, Chris Ivsin ’13 and JP Garafalo ’12.
The men’s squash team is only going to get better in coming years, if this year has been any indication of what is to come. Some really incredible matches this weekend and in weekends past were played by the sophomore and first-year members. Many of the players who led Middlebury to a double victory over UVM and the victory over Bard College this past weekend were first-years or sophomores.
Coach John Illig has high hopes for his team going forward, “The men’s team is playing well, is injury-free and is peaking at just the right time. We’ve had a great season, and we’re looking forward to Team Nationals.”
The men’s squash team will play at Team nationals two weekends from now, February 25th-27th at Harvard University.
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