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Freshman Zach Schweitzer had an unusual win at #1 to clinch the match for Tufts
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HOLYOKE/NORTHAMPTON - The #27 Tufts University men's squash team defeated #26 Hobart on Sunday in the most important Jumbo match of their weekend at the Amherst Round Robin Tournament. Tufts also lost to Connecticut College 8-1 on Sunday.
Hobart went ahead 1-0 as Tufts' #8 Andrew Meleney (Greenwich, CT) lost, but freshman Alex Nalle (Philadelphia, PA) won in three straight at #2 tying up the score. Hobart went back ahead as #4 Kevin Kent defeated Jumbo sophomore Michael Abboud (Bronxville, NY) in three. Tufts freshman Elliot Kardon (Weston, MA) won handily at #9 with strong forehand drives.
Jumbo freshman Gordon Silverman (Phoenix, AZ) had two match balls in the third game, but Hobart's Grant Bercari came back to win in a dramatic five games including 12-10 in the fifth. That made the team score 4-2 in favor of Hobart. However, Tufts sophomore #5 Jeremy Ho (Reston, VA) added a 3-0 win for Tufts with tight high drives and drops at the same time, while captain Henry Miller (Philadelphia, PA) pulled out a four-game match at #3 to tie the score.
That left the #1s to break the tie, with Jumbo freshman Zach Schweitzer (Huntingdon Valley, PA) battling back pain to stay in the match after falling behind 2-1 in games and facing four match balls against him in the fourth game at 10-6. He staved off two match balls with long rallies, and on the third his opponent vomited on the court. That automatically is a default and Tufts pulled out a most unusual win 5-4.
Later in the day, Nalle was the only Jumbo to win against the #21 Camels. At #2, he emerged out of a 1-1 tie with 11-1 and 11-7 victories to take the match. The Jumbos had two four-game losses in the match, with Miller falling in the third and freshman Hugo Meggitt (Princeton, NJ) losing the seventh.
Tufts remained above .500 with the split, moving to 6-5 overall. Coach Doug Eng's team plays at the Maine Round Robin next Friday.
Hobart results
Connecticut College results
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