LEWISTON, Maine -- The No. 21 nationally ranked Bates men's squash team earned a dramatic 5-4 win over No. 19 Middlebury Thursday night at the Bates College Squash Center.
The match came down to a battle at the No. 1 position between Bobcat senior captain Graham Bonnell (Southport, Conn.) and Middlebury's Nick Bermingham. Bonnell prevailed 3-1 (12-10, 16-14, 7-11, 12-10) to seal the victory for Bates.
The Bobcats (9-4) won their seventh straight match overall and their third straight by a 5-4 margin. Bates defeated Middlebury (2-7) for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Only two matches ended in three games Thursday, with the evenly matched teams going toe-to-toe up and down the lineup.
Senior Garon Rothenberg (Brooklyn, N.Y.) held off Nate Moll in a 3-2 (11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6) victory at the No. 5 position. And the bottom of the lineup took care of the rest for Bates.
Senior Benni McComish (Williamstown, Mass.) won his fifth straight match, prevailing 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9) at the No. 7 position over Wiatt Hinton. And sophomore Peter Koenigsbauer (Seattle, Wash.) turned in the most dominating performance of the day with a 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-0) win over Alex Giles at the No. 8 position.
Meanwhile, first-year Sultan Hashmi (Belvedere, Calif.) ran his personal record to 11-2 on the season with a 3-1 (10-12, 11-4, 11-2, 11-5) victory at the No. 9 position over Alex Stimpson.
The Bobcats face their stiffest test of the season so far from a team not named Trinity when No. 13 Franklin & Marshall comes to town on Saturday, Feb. 1. The match is set for 12pm.
No. 21 Bates 5, No. 19 Middlebury 4
Jan. 23, 2020 | Lewiston, Maine
1. Graham Bonnell (B) def. Nick Bermingham (M) 12-10, 16-14, 7-11, 12-10
2. Will Cembalest (M) def. Jesper Phillips (B) 11-4, 11-6, 11-8
3. Jacob Kagan (M) def. Omar Attia (B) 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10
4. John Epley (M) def. Mahmoud Yousry (B) 3-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5
5. Garon Rothenberg (B) def. Nate Moll (M) 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6
6. PK Keller (M) def. Jonathan Walker (B) 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10
7. Benni McComish (B) def. Wiatt Hinton (M) 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9
8. Peter Koenigsbauer (B) def. Alex Giles (M) 11-2, 11-5, 11-0
9. Sultan Hashmi (B) def. Alex Stimpson (M) 10-12, 11-4, 11-2, 11-5
Gallery: (1-23-2020) Men's Squash vs. Middlebury (Phyllis Graber Jensen)
