HARTFORD, Conn. -- The No. 22 nationally ranked Bates men's squash team went the extra mile to defeat Middlebury 5-4 in Sunday's third-place match at the NESCAC Championships.
All five matches the Bobcats (5-10) won against the Panthers (4-10) went the maximum five games.
Junior
Jonathan Walker (Kingston, Jamaica) rallied from down 2-0 at the No. 5 position to prevail 3-2 (5-11, 8-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-9) over Middlebury's Omar Nemr, clinching the match for Bates.
Comebacks happened all over the place Sunday for the Bobcats.
Sophomore
Matthew Lazor (West Hartford, Conn.) matched Walker's feat, falling behind 2-0 only to bounce back and prevail 3-2 (5-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-6, 11-9) at the No. 9 position over Carter Joyce.
Three Bobcats rallied from 2-1 deficits to win.
Senior captains
Jesper Phillips (Moss, Norway) and
Peter Koenigsbauer (Seattle, Wash.) both showed off their leadership at the top of the lineup. Phillips recovered from a slow start to win 3-2 (4-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7) at the No. 1 position over Theodore Best. Meanwhile, Koenigsbauer had a very similar match against Will Lichstein, winning 3-2 (2-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7) at the No. 3 position.
Sophomore
Garrett Wenberg (Rye, N.Y.) got a key early win for Bates at the No. 8 position, prevailing 3-2 (11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5) over Middlebury's PK Keller.
The third-place showing at the NESCAC Championships is the program's best since 2017-18, when the Bobcats placed second, which was part of a run of three straight NESCAC runner-up seasons. The Bates men last placed third at NESCACs in 2014-15. This marks the first time Bates has beaten Middlebury twice in one season since 2008-09.
The Bobcats head to the College Squash Association Team Championships Feb. 18-20, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
No. 22 Bates 5, No. 26 Middlebury 4
Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022 at Hartford, Conn.
1. Jesper Phillips (B) def. Theodore Best (M) 4-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7
2. Nathan Feinstein (M) def. Harris Ramlee (B) 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6
3. Peter Koenigsbauer (B) def. Will Lichstein (M) 2-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7
4. Nate Moll (M) def. Labeeb Ali (B) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7
5. Jonathan Walker (B) def. Omar Nemr (M) 5-11, 8-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-9
6. Julian Sandoval (M) def. Jairaj Singh (B) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5
7. Alexis Ballo (M) def. Sultan Hashmi (B) 11-9, 15-13, 7-11, 11-8
8. Garrett Wenberg (B) def. PK Keller (M) 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5
9. Matthew Lazor (B) def. Carter Joyce (M) 5-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-6, 11-9
