LANCASTER, Pa. – #10 Franklin & Marshall thumped #9 Penn 8-1 in men's squash Wednesday night. The victory was the Diplomats' (2-2) first over the Quakers (1-1) since February 9, 2000, when F&M won 5-4 in Philadelphia. Penn had won each of the ten meetings in the 3,948 days between F&M's victories.

"I am proud of the guys," said Head Coach, John White. "I thought we could have won 5-4, maybe 6-3, but to take it 8-1, it was just a perfect a night."  

The win is the first over a top-ten team under the Diplomats' fourth-year coach. F&M had beaten 11th ranked Bates on two occasions in two separate years, but no opponent ranked higher in the Great White era.

The match was decided when No. 2 Giulherme de Melo (2-2) and No. 9 Aadit Zaveri (2-2) wrapped up their matches nearly simultaneously to make it 5-1. de Melo had put the finishing touches on a five-game marathon that seesawed leaders in the final frame. He finished off Danny Greenberg 5-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 13-11, a much tougher match than his 3-0 win over the same opponent at Penn last year. Zaveri had iced John Dudzik 11-5, 12-10, 11-2.

Sujat Barua moved to 3-1 on the year with a five-game win over Zuhaib Mohiuddin at No. 4, 11-7, 8-11, 2-11, 11-9, 11-5. Gabriel de Melo (2-1) defeated Thomas Mattson at No. 1, 11-13, 12-10, 11-4, 11-9, to wrap up the night.

"I guess we are no longer the unofficial doormat of the Ivies," joked White, referencing a line in The Daily Pennsylvanian from his first season at the helm.

The Diplomats return to action on Friday evening at Williams.

#10 Franklin & Marshall 8, #9 Penn 1

Dec 1, 2010 at Lancaster, Pa. (Mayser Center)