The victory clinches a third place finish for the Bobcats (14-4) at the NESCAC Championships and avenges a 5-4 regular season loss to the Panthers (9-9).

"I've been involved with some epic matches," Bates head coach Pat Cosquer '97 said. "This one was up there."

Indeed, four of the five matches won by Bates on Sunday took the full five games.

The Bobcats found themselves down 4-3 to the Panthers with senior co-captain Emma Dunn (Bellevue, Wash.) and Arjoon (Georgetown, Guyana) still playing. 

Dunn split her first two games with the Panthers' Mira Chugh at the No. 5 position but fell behind 2-1 after dropping the third game 11-3. She came roaring back with an impressive 11-1 win in game four, setting up an all-important fifth game. Dunn prevailed 11-6 to take the match 3-2 (13-11, 15-17, 3-11, 11-1, 11-6), leaving Arjoon as the lone player on the courts for Bates with the contest tied at four matches each.

Arjoon won her first two games at the No. 3 position, only to see the Panthers' Alexa Comai come back to take the next two games, including a 13-11 heartbreaker in game four. In the decisive fifth game, Arjoon prevailed 11-7 to secure a 3-2 (11-5, 12-10, 6-11, 11-13, 11-7) win for Arjoon and a 5-4 win for Bates. The win for Arjoon avenged a 3-0 loss she suffered to Comai during the teams' regular season match. 

Arjoon and Dunn weren't alone when it came to pulling out dramatic wins on Sunday.

First-year Eliza Dunham (New Haven, Conn.) went up 2-0 against Liddy Renner at the No. 4 position before Renner rallied to win game three 15-13 and she followed that up by taking game four 11-8. In a thrilling fifth game, Dunham pulled out a 13-11 win to clinch a 3-2 (11-4, 11-9, 13-15, 8-11, 13-11) victory. 

Senior co-captain Charlotte Cabot (Dover, Mass.) split her first two games but just like her fellow captain Dunn fell behind 2-1 after dropping game three 11-8. Cabot refused to lose, coming back to win games four and five by scores of 11-9 and 13-11 respectively. Her 3-2 (14-12, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11) win over Lucy Bostwick at the No. 6 position marked Cabot's second victory over a Middlebury opponent this year and her eighth win over the past nine matches for Bates.

Relatively speaking, sophomore Kristyna Alexova (Boskovice, Czech Republic) had an easy time at the No. 2 position, dropping the first game before rallying to win 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-2) over Anne Glassie.

The win marks the Bobcats' best finish at the NESCAC Championships since the 2013-14 season and marks their first win over Middlebury since the 2012-13 season. 

"The women really picked each other up and played like Bobcats for each other today," Cosquer said. "Today is another historic and special day for our program and I couldn't be more proud of both squash teams." 

Next up for Bates women's squash is the College Squash Association Team Championships on the campus of Princeton University, Feb. 24-26. 

No. 15 Bates 5, No. 14 Middlebury 4
Feb. 5, 2017 at Amherst, Mass.

1. Beatrijs Kuijpers (M) def. Luca Polgar (B) 11-8, 15-13, 11-7
2. Kristyna Alexova (B) def. Anne Glassie (M) 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-2
3. Vicky Arjoon (B) def. Alexa Comai (M) 11-5, 12-10, 6-11, 11-13, 11-7
4. Eliza Dunham (B) def. Liddy Renner (M) 11-4, 11-9, 13-15, 8-11, 13-11
5. Emma Dunn (B) def. Mira Chugh (M) 13-11, 15-17, 3-11, 11-1, 11-6
6. Charlotte Cabot (B) def. Lucy Bostwick (M) 14-12, 11-13, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11
7. Audrey Ellen (M) def. Blair Weintraub (B) 11-2, 11-7, 11-8
8. Caroline Jahrling (M) def. Katie Bull (B) 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
9. Natasha Lowitt (M) def. Molly Brooks (B) 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4