LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 9 Franklin & Marshall men's squash team downed its first top-five team of the season, handing No. 3 Rochester a thrilling 5-4 defeat on Saturday afternoon at the Mayser Center. The win improved the Diplomats to 11-5 on the year, while the YellowJackets fell to 8-4.

Rochester entered action with a three-match winning streak, including a 5-4 victory against No. 1 Trinity last Saturday. The Yellowjackets were strong at the top of the order, capturing wins in three of the top four spots. 

The Diplomats No. 1 Abhishek Pradhan delivered a key win for F&M, battling back from an early 2-0 hole to take three straight games (6-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-9). Pedro Veiga de Almeida (No 5) was solid at No. 5, sweeping his opponent by an 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 score, while Gavan Hitchenor also blanked the opposition at No. 9 by an 11-5, 12-10, 12-10 tally.

Michael Sorochev earned a marathon 3-2 victory (11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 5-11, 11-7) at No. 7, while Kareem Nabil Abdel Mawla (No. 8) trailed early, after a 13-11 loss in his opening game, before battling back with three straight wins. 

F&M faces another difficult test tomorrow when No. 2 St. Lawrence comes to Lancaster for a noon matchup.

#9 Franklin & Marshall 5, #3 University of Rochester 4

1. Abhishek Pradhan (F&MM) def. Ryosei Kobayashi (ROC) 6-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-9

2. Mario Yanez Tapia (ROC) def. Cole Osborne (F&MM) 13-11, 6-11, 11-2, 13-11

3. Neil Cordell (ROC) def. Dylan Cunningham (F&MM) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7

4. Tomotaka Endo (ROC) def. Alex Arjoon (F&MM) 11-9, 13-11, 11-7

5. P. Veiga de Almeida (F&MM) def. William Mohr (ROC) 11-1, 11-4, 11-3

6. M. Bertocchi (ROC) def. Brian Henry (F&MM) 12-10, 11-9, 11-8

7. Michael Sorochev (F&MM) def. Aria Fazelimanesh (ROC) 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 5-11, 11-7

8. Kareem Mawla (F&MM) def. Xiaomin Meng (ROC) 11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4

9. Gavan Hitchenor (F&MM) def. Ben Pitfield (ROC) 11-5, 12-10, 12-10

Exh. Phil Kelly (F&MM) def. C. Riedelsheimer (ROC) 12-10, 11-6, 11-9