THE BASICS

- Scores:
No. 13 Western Ontario University -5, MIT - 4

No. 18 University of Rochester - 6, MIT - 3

MIT - 5, No. 21 Saint Lawrence - 4

- Records: MIT (4-2); Western University (1-0), University of Rochester (1-0); Saint Lawrence (3-1)

- Location: Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and Canton, N.Y.

- The Lead: After a 3-0 start to the season at home, the No. 16 MIT men's squash team faced a tough weekend test against No. 13 Western Ontario University, No. 18 University of Rochester, and No. 21 Saint Lawrence University. The Engineers fell on Friday and Saturday before coming away with the victory over No. 21 Saint Lawrence to round out their weekend.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. No. 13 Western Ontario:

-  First Year Mero Elmarassy (Santa Clara, Calif.) earned a 3-1 victory from the first position falling 1-11 in the first set but bouncing back with 11-9, 11-9 and 11-8 wins in the subsequent sets for the win.

- Sophomore Hyun Su Price (Philadelphia, Pa.) added a win from the second position going to five sets against his opponent but ultimately earning the comeback 5-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7. 

- Senior Collin Wen (Short Hills, N.J.) fell 3-0 from the third position (7-11, 6-11, 8-11) while First Year John Gunton (Lawrenceville, N.J.) dropped a 3-1 match against his opponent winning the second set but falling 5-11, 11-8, 5-11, 7-11

- Sophomore Bobby Albani (Newtown Square, Pa.) earned another victory for the Engineers from the fifth position, another five-set thriller that saw Albani come out as the victor with a 12-10, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8 win to give MIT its third point of the match. 

- But senior Nikhil Kakarla (Philadelphia, Pa.), sophomore Lars Barkman (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and Graduate Student Matt McManus (Philadelphia, Pa.) fell from the sixth, seventh and eighth positions by 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2 scores respectively

- Sophomore Mitav Nayak (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) took home a win from the ninth position to round out the scoring upending his opponent 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8. 

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. No. 18 University of Rochester:

-  Elmarassy, Price and Wen all fell from the first, second and third positions 3-0 in 27 minutes to start off the match against the Yellowjackets while Gunton dropped a 3-1 decision (8-11, 6-11, 11-8, 12-10) battling until the end from the fourth position

- Albani picked up a win for the Engineers from the fifth position, dispatching his opponent 3-1 with 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3 while Kakarla went right down to the end with a 3-2 loss to his Yellowjacket foe, falling 11-9, 17-19, 11-8, 10-12, 7-11 and forcing his opponent to the limits.

- Barkman and McManus came away with victories from the seventh and eighth position against Rochester. Barkman took home a 3-1 win (3-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8) while McManus outlasted his opponent 3-2, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 for the team's fourth point of the match 

- Nayak fell 3-2 from the ninth position, as it took his opponent 50 minutes to earn the 11-5, 10-12, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7 win. 
 

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. No. 21 Saint Lawrence:

-  Elmarassy dropped a quick 3-0 contest from the first position to start things off but his match was followed by subsequent victories from Price, Wen, and Gunton in the second, third and fourth positions.

- The trio earned 3-0 wins over their Saint Lawrence rivals with Price battling for a 12-10, 11-7, 11-7 win from the second position. Wen nipped his foe 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 and Gunton upended his opponent 11-8, 11-8, 11-3 to earn a 3-1 lead. 

- Albani finished next from the fifth position with a victory to add another point to the Engineers' total with an 11-8, 11-9, 13-11 win, followed by a victory from the sixth slot from Kakarla who took home a 3-1 win, coming back for the 6-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 win

- Barkman, McManus and Nayak fell in the seventh, eighth and ninth positions but their teammates had already come up with enough points for the MIT victory. 

- McManus dropped a 3-1 match falling 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11 from the eighth position followed by Nayak's 3-2 loss from the ninth slot (3-11, 12-14, 12-10, 11-7, 9-11) battling the whole way. 

- Barkman retired after an elongated 1 hour and 19-minute battle with everything tied at two from the seventh position as the Engineers had already captured the victory. The two players ended the match at 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 5-11 and 13-13 in the fifth set when the match concluded.

UP NEXT:

- The Engineers return to the courts on Friday, November 17th for a 6:00 p.m. match against Colby College at the Zesiger Center Squash Courts.
 

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