MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- The No. 21 nationally ranked Bates men's squash team got strong performances at the top of the ladder but fell 5-4 to No. 17 Middlebury Sunday in the third-place match at the NESCAC Championships.
The Bobcats (9-8) fell behind 2-0 to the Panthers (12-5) before senior captain McLeod Abbott (Bronxville, N.Y.) got Bates in the win column with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-4) sweep of Middlebury's Wiatt Hinton at the No. 8 position.
Then sophomore Omar Attia (Cairo, Egypt) won an epic five-game battle at the No. 3 position, winning 3-2 (9-11, 11-4, 12-10, 5-11, 13-11) over the Panthers'  William Cembalest to even the match at two apiece.Â
Middlebury went up 4-2 before junior Mahmoud Yousry (Cairo, Egypt) swept Jacob Ellen 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) at the No. 2 position for Bates' third win of the afternoon.Â
Unfortunately for Bates, the Panthers clinched the win with a sweep at the No. 4 position. But the Bobcats did finish the match on a positive note with a 3-0 (11-1, 11-8, 11-8) win from junior Graham Bonnell (Southport, Conn.) at the No. 1 position.Â
The Bobcats finish fourth in the NESCAC and await their seeding for team nationals, taking place Feb. 14-17 at Yale University.
No. 17 Middlebury 5, No. 21 Bates 4 (NESCAC Third-Place Match)
Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019 at Middlebury Vt.Â
1. Graham Bonnell (B) def. Justin Ghaeli (M) 11-1, 11-8, 11-8
2. Mahmoud Yousry (B) def. Jacob Ellen (M) 11-8, 11-9, 11-8
3. Omar Attia (B) def. William Cembalest (M) 9-11, 11-4, 12-10, 5-11, 13-11
4. Jack Kagan (M) def. Jesper Phillips (B) 11-7, 11-7, 13-11
5. Nick Bermingham (M) def. Garon Rothenberg (B) 11-1, 11-8, 11-4
6. Teddy Best (M) def. Coley Cannon (B) 12-10, 11-6, 11-2
7. John Epley (M) def. Benni McComish (B) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6
8. McLeod Abbott (B) def. Wiatt Hinton (M) 11-7, 11-3, 11-4
9. Alex Merrill (M) def. Dylan Muldoon (B) 11-9, 11-3, 11-7
