CLINTON, N.Y. – No. 2 seed Bates College men's squash beat seventh-seeded Amherst, 9-0, to advance to the semifinals of the NESCAC Championship for the eighth straight year before falling to No. 3 seed Williams College, 5-4, on Saturday at the Little Squash Center at Hamilton College.
The No. 14 nationally-ranked Bobcats (10-6) defeated the No. 16 nationally-ranked Ephs 6-3 on Jan. 11, but Williams (12-11) took this year's second meeting to reach the NESCAC Final for the eighth consecutive year.
Bates – earning the No. 2 seed in the tournament for the first time since 2008 – beat No. 22 nationally-ranked Amherst (5-9) for the second time this winter after sweeping the Lord Jeffs, 9-0, on Jan. 18.
Sophomore Ahmed Abdel Khalek (Cairo, Egypt) and first-year Ahmed Sherif Hatata (Alexandria, Egypt) each won twice in straight sets for the Bobcats winning on court Nos. 1 and 2 respectively. Abdel Khalek improved to 13-0 on the year as an individual.
Junior captain Andy Cannon (Greenwich, Conn.) and first-year Darrius Campbell (St. Stephen, S.C.) constituted the other Bates players to pick up two victories on the day. Cannon won in five sets against Amherst and in three vs. Williams at the No. 5 spot while Campbell won in three vs. Williams and in five against Amherst at No. 7.
Senior captain Kristian Muldoon (Paget, Bermuda), junior Nabil Saleem (Alpharetta, Ga.), sophomore Caran Arora (Mumbai, India), and first-years Nima Olumi (Newton, Mass.) and Carlos Ames (Williamstown, Mass.) earned the Bobcats other points against the Lord Jeffs on court Nos. 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9 respectively.
Among that group, Saleem came the closest to defeating his Eph adversary, falling 4-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 in four sets.
Bates will play fifth-seeded Middlebury in the third-place match tomorrow at noon.
Bates 9, Amherst 0 – NESCAC Championship Quarterfinals
Feb. 1, 2014 at Clinton, N.Y. (Little Squash Center)
No. 1 – Ahmed Abdel Khalek (BAT) defeats Noah Browne (AMH), 11-3, 11-4, 11-1
No. 2 – Ahmed Sherif Hatata (BAT) defeats Scott DeSantis (AMH), 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
No. 3 – Kristian Muldoon (BAT) defeats David Kerr (AMH), 11-2, 11-7, 11-9
No. 4 – Nabil Saleem (BAT) defeats Alex Southmayd (AMH), 11-13, 11-8, 11-2, 11-6
No. 5 – Andy Cannon (BAT) defeats Michael Groot (AMH), 11-8, 5-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4
No. 6 – Caran Arora (BAT) defeats Darian Ehsani (AMH), 11-6, 11-1, 11-6
No. 7 – Darrius Campbell (BAT) defeats Jeremy Van (AMH), 11-3, 11-1, 11-5
No. 8 – Nima Olumi (BAT) defeats Rodrigo Quan Miranda (AMH), 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7
No. 9 – Carlos Ames (BAT) defeats Thornton Ellis (AMH), 11-7, 11-2, 11-4
Ex. – Jason Shrubb (BAT) defeats James Line (AMH), 11-2, 11-4, 11-6
Williams 5, Bates 4 – NESCAC Championship Semifinals
Feb. 1, 2014 at Clinton, N.Y. (Little Squash Center)
No. 1 – Ahmed Abdel Khalek (BAT) defeats Kevin Chen (WIL), 11-4, 11-4, 11-2
No. 2 – Ahmed Sherif Hatata (BAT) defeats Jamie Ruggiero (WIL), 11-7, 11-6, 11-5
No. 3 – Taylor Foehl (WIL) defeats Kristian Muldoon (BAT), 11-8, 11-4, 11-8
No. 4 – Chris Wilkinson (WIL) defeats Nabil Saleem (BAT), 4-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5
No. 5 – Andy Cannon (BAT) defeats Andrew Maruca (WIL), 11-7, 14-12, 11-6
No. 6 – Kai Graham (WIL) defeats Caran Arora (BAT), 11-6, 11-4, 11-9
No. 7 – Darrius Campbell (BAT) defeats Galen Squiers (WIL), 10-12, 11-3, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4
No. 8 – Varun Sharma (WIL) defeats Nima Olumi (BAT), 11-8, 14-12, 11-4
No. 9 – Ryan Eagan (WIL) defeats Carlos Ames (BAT), 11-7, 11-7, 11-5
