POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Going on the road for the first time this season, the Wesleyan men's squash team went 1-2 at the Vassar Team Challenge, falling to Middlebury and Hobart on Saturday defeating the host Vassar 9-0 on Sunday for the Cardinals' first win of the season.
The Cardinals easily defeated the Brewers, recording eight 3-0 sweeps while
Nimai Kini '26 held off Rithik Jalali at #1 in a 3-2 decision to secure the 9-0 win. Wesleyan finished off Vassar in less than 20 minutes in matches #5 through #9 with
Preston Crawford '24 dropping the fewest points in a 11-2, 11-2, 11-1 decision at #9 over Matthew O'Leary.
Abhinav Gupta '25,
John Sutherby '23, and
Toby Goldston '25 all won by 3-0 scores at positions #2 through #4, respectively. Kini was locked in an extended battle with Jalali as Kini won the first two games 11-7 and 11-4 before seeing the Brewer even the score with 12-10 and 11-7 wins in games three and four. Going to a fifth and deciding game, Kini rebounded with an 11-7 win to take the match, 3-2.
On Saturday, Wesleyan fell to the Middlebury Panthers 9-0. Kini, Gupta, Goldton, and
Morgan Shatzman '25 each won one game apiece while
Shanay Sanghavi '23 battled at #5, going the distance in a 3-2 loss (12-10, 1-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-13) that needed extra points in the fifth game.
In the match against Hobart, Wesleyan lost 8-1 with
Ethan Yan '25 recording the lone win for the Cardinals as he defeated Roberto Vega at #6 in five games (11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-4). Sutherby, Goldston, Sanghavi, and Crawford each won one game in their respective matches.
Wesleyan has one match remaining before winter break, as the Cardinals play host to Connecticut College on Wednesday at 5:30 PM.
