LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year
Omar Attia rallied from two games down to win his match, clinching a 5-4 victory for the No. 18 nationally ranked Bates men's squash team over No. 21 Williams Saturday afternoon at the Bates College Squash Center.
Attia (Cairo, Egypt) dropped his first two games to the Ephs' Carl Shuck at the No. 4 position by counts of 5-11 and 9-11. With the overall score between the two teams tied at four, Attia had to win the next three games to get Bates (5-1) the victory.
And that's exactly what he did. Attia prevailed 3-2 (5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-3) over Shuck, securing the Bobcats' sixth straight win over the Ephs (2-10) going back to 2014-15.
Attia's thrilling comeback was just one of many exciting matches on the afternoon. Only one of the nine matches ended in a 3-0 sweep. Bates sophomore Mahmoud Yousry (Cairo, Egypt) won 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-8) over the Ephs' William Means at the No. 1 position.
Sophomore Benni McComish (Williamstown, Mass.) won against his hometown school with a come-from-behind 3-2 (7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-9) victory over Andrew Litvin at the No. 8 position. Junior Coley Cannon (Greenwich, Conn.) fell down two games to one, but he too showed off his resilience with a 3-2 (7-11, 11-1, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6) win over Claude Smith at the No. 6 position.
At the No. 5 position, senior captain Anirudh Nambiar (Pune, India) won a back-and-forth battle with David Pincus, prevailing 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 13-15, 11-9) and giving Bates yet another close victory. Four of the five matches the Bobcats won went the full five games. Meanwhile, their losses were nearly as close, with two coming in five games and two coming in four games.
The Bobcats face a stiff test Sunday when they welcome No. 11 George Washington to town. The match gets underway at 11:00 a.m.
No. 18 Bates 5, No. 21 Williams 4
Jan. 13, 2018 at Lewiston, Maine.
1. Mahmoud Yousry (B) def. William Means (W) 11-3, 11-4, 11-8
2. John Fitzgerald (W) def. Graham Bonnell (B) 11-8, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4
3. Wyatt Khosrowshahi (W) def. McLeod Abbott (B) 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6
4. Omar Attia (B) def. Carl Shuck (W) 5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-3
5. Anirudh Nambiar (B) def. David Pincus (W) 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 13-15, 11-9
6. Coley Cannon (B) def. Claude Smith (W) 7-11, 11-1, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6
7. Ben Eisenberg (W) def. Garon Rothenberg (B) 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6
8. Benni McComish (B) def. Andrew Litvin (W) 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-9
9. Will Ruggiero (W) def. Dylan Muldoon (B) 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 12-10
