No. 9 Men’s Squash Downs Princeton for Second Time, Moves onto Hoehn Cup Finals

Saturday, February 27

New Haven, Conn.

2:30 p.m.

Drexel University

No. 13 Princeton

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

No. 9 Men’s Squash Downs Princeton for Second Time, Moves onto Hoehn Cup Finals

2/27/2016 6:24:00 PM | Men's Squash

No. 9 DREXEL MEN [ Season Stats | Announced Lineups | Live Results ]
2016 B Division Hoehn Cup in New Haven, Conn.
Payne Whitney Gymnasium (Yale University)
Quarters: Friday, Feb. 26 vs. No. 16 Brown | W, 9-0
Semis: Saturday, Feb. 27 vs. No. 13 Princeton | W, 8-1
Finals: Sunday, Feb. 28 vs. No. 10 Cornell | 11:30 a.m.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 9 Drexel men's squash team (14-4) downed the No. 13 Princeton Tigers for the second time this season by a final of 8-1 on Saturday in a Hoehn Cup semifinal matchup. The Dragons will face No. 10 Cornell tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 28 at 11:30 a.m. in the B Division Hoehn Cup Championship as Drexel looks for its first Hoehn Cup.

The Dragons dropped its first individual match of the weekend on Saturday but emerged with a strong 8-1 win over Princeton after a perfect 9-0 outing on Friday in the first round against No. 16 Brown.

Freshman Omar El Atmas and senior Ibrahim Bakir played from the No. 1 and 2 spots for Drexel as the duo found themselves in a 1-0 hole after the first game. Both fought back to win the second and third games. El Atmas grabbed the fourth to secure the victory, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9, while Bakir's match went the distance, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10.

Sophomore Atticus Kelly earned a win from the No. 3 spot for Drexel as freshman Bransten Ming played from the No.4, winning his 14th match on the year.

Luke Willemse won his sixth-straight match on Saturday from the No. 5 position, 11-8, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9, as the sophomore continues his hot streak.

Junior Michael Thompson improved to 16-2 on the campaign with a 12-10, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7 decision from the No. 6 spot. The junior has won a team-best eight matches in a row.

Senior Joey Gingold and junior Nat Fry earned victories from the No. 8 and 9 spots for the Dragons. Both of the wins came as sweeps.

The matchup with No. 10 Cornell was set after the Big Red defeated George Washington, 6-3. The Dragons are 1-3 all-time against the Big Red with the lone win coming earlier this season. Cornell is looking for its fourth Hoehn Cup, Drexel its first.

No. 9 Drexel 8, No. 13 Princeton 1
1| Omar El Atmas (Drexel) def. Clark Doyle (Princeton); 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
2| Ibrahim Bakir (Drexel) def. Cody Cortes (Princeton); 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10
3| Atticus Kelly (Drexel) def. Vivek Dinodia (Princeton); 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5
4| Bransten Ming (Drexel) def. Komron Shayegan (Princeton); 11-4, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7
5| Luke Willemse (Drexel) def. Abhimanyu Shah (Princeton); 11-8, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9
6| Michael Thompson (Drexel) def. Michael LeBlanc (Princeton); 12-10, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7
7| William Oon (Princeton) def. Noel Solomon (Drexel); 11-5, 1-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7
8| Joey Gingold (Drexel) def. Sam Ezratty (Princeton); 11-4, 11-2, 11-8
9| Nat Fry (Drexel) def. Ben Leizman (Princeton); 11-8, 11-8, 11-7