Squash Grabs Two Crucial Wins vs. Middlebury

Sunday, January 19

Kline & Specter Squash Center

12:00 p.m.

Drexel University

Middlebury

1/19/2014 1:25:00 PM | Men's Squash, Women's Squash

PHILADELPHIA - Coming into the weekend, the Drexel men's and women's squash teams knew that they had an opportunity for three wins at home. The first two, based on national rankings, were expected to be easy Dragon victories, and proved to be so. On Sunday, though, the Dragons had big matches with Middlebury, who came in ranked not far behind Drexel on both the men's and women's sides. Though both matches were tight, Drexel prevailed 6-3 on the women's side and 5-4 on the men's.

The women started the day on a strong note with their 6-3 win over Middlebury. The Dragons came into the match ranked No. 14 in the nation, with Middlebury sitting at No. 17. As a result, the win was big for a Drexel team attempting to solidify its standing in the top 16, which ensures a second-division standing for the season-ending national tournament.

Drexel swept the first four matches on the court, leaving the Dragons just one shy of the majority they would need to win the overall victory. Elisa Money won in four sets at No. 2, dropping a hard-fought third set 12-10 before rebounding for an equally grueling fourth set win, 13-11. Laura Rahauser took the point at No. 4 in straight sets, winning 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. Kaitlyn Money was victorious in three sets at No. 6 after a marathon 15-13 first set, winning 15-13, 11-5, 11-9. Finally, Disha Thahryamal cruised to an 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 win at No. 8.

Middlebury climbed back into it at the back end of the match, winning at No. 1, 5 and 7. However, Drexel had enough firepower to claim victories at No. 3 and No. 9 to capture the win. Mary Fung-A-Fat rolled in straight sets at No. 3, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4. In the No. 9 position, Davila Thompson had an easy first set before two intense wins in the next two sets, capturing an 11-4, 12-10, 15-13 decision.

After the women were done, the men's teams took the courts. There, Drexel came in ranked No. 15 in the nation, while Middlebury was No. 19.

This time, it was Middlebury getting off to a strong start with wins at No. 4, 6 and 8. Only Justin Singh, playing in the No. 2 position on the ladder, got Drexel a much-needed point in the first wave of matches, winning his contest 11-9, 11-0, 11-8.

The Dragons got four-set wins at No. 1 by Michael Thompson and No. 7 by Nat Fry to leave themselves down 4-3 with two matches remaining on the courts. Noel Solomon, playing at No. 5, finished first, closing out a straight-sets 11-8, 13-11, 11-8 victory to even things up at four apiece.

Last on the court was Mark Kauf, who was playing at No. 3. Kauf fell behind early, losing hard-fought sets in both the first and second to go down 8-11, 10-12. Knowing that he needed to rebound for his team to get the victory, Kauf buckled down in the third and pulled out an 11-6 win. The fourth set went to him as well, 11-3. Then in the fifth, Kauf kept the momentum rolling and trounced his opponent, 11-4, to clinch the point for himself and the win for the Dragons.

Drexel will return to action on Wednesday when the Dragons make the short trip down 33rd Street to Ringe Courts to take on the Penn Quakers. Both the men and the women will be in action beginning at 7:00 p.m.