BRUNSWICK, Maine – The top-seeded Trinity College men's squash team defeated eight-seed Tufts University 8-1 in a NESCAC Championship quarterfinal round match at Bowdoin College on Saturday morning.
The Bantams, who are ranked #2 nationally and are the 13-time defending conference champions, improve to 14-1 overall. They will face fifth-seed Middlebury College in the conference semifinals on Saturday at 4:30 pm.
The #24 Jumbos had advanced to the quarterfinals for the second straight year with a 9-0 opening-round win against Connecticut College on Friday. The loss to Trinity drops them to 6-10 overall. Tufts will play Amherst College in the consolation round on Saturday at 4:30 pm.
Tufts' one win against Trinity today was earned in the ninth match by senior Connor Wind. He emerged out of a 1-1 tie to win in four games 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6 against Bantam Will Jones.
Two other four-set matches went in Trinity's favor. Tufts sophomore Marco Rodriguez won the first game in the #5 match 11-8 before Bantam Julius Benthin ran off three in a row (13-11, 11-5, 11-9) to take the win. At #8, Trinity's Alexander Bernhard defeated Jumbo sophomore Will Dewire 11-5, 11-9, 13-15, 11-0.
Among the three-set matches, sophomore Konrad LaDow was most competitive for Tufts with an 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 loss in the fourth contest. Trinity freshman Miko Aijanen won the top match by 11-4, 11-6, 11-0 scores.
