HARTFORD, Conn. – The No. 7 Franklin & Marshall men's squash team dropped into an early hole it could not climb out of, falling to No. 6 Rochester by a narrow 6-3 score on Saturday afternoon in the Potter Cup (A Division) at the CSA Team Championships, hosted by Trinity. The Diplomats dropped to 13-8 on the season, while the Yellowjackets improved to 11-5.
With the defeat, F&M falls into the No. 7-8 playoff and will take on Penn. tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at Wesleyan University. The two squads faced off earlier in the season on Dec. 6 with the Diplomats picking up a 5-4 victory on the road. Live results for tomorrow's match can be found here, while updated brackets are available here.
Rochester jumped in front by an early 2-0 score following wins of 3-0 at No. 3 and 3-1 at No. 6, until the Diplomats responded with a 3-1 decision by Gavan Hitchenor at No. 9 to get F&M on the board. The Yellowjackets sealed the victory in the next three matchups with a 3-1 win at No. 2, followed by sweeps at No. 8 and No. 1.
The Diplomats closed out the competition on a positive note with wins in two of the final three contests of the afternoon. Pedro Veiga de Almeida (No. 5) overcame an 11-9 loss in the opening game with wins in three of the final four frames for the hard-fought 3-2 win.
Michael Sorochev (No. 7) also provided a strong effort at No. 7, battling back from a 2-0 hole and capturing the final three games for the 3-2 decision (9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-5).
#6 University of Rochester 6, #7 Franklin & Marshall 3
1. Ryosei Kobayashi (ROC) def. Abhishek Pradhan (F&MM) 11-9, 11-4, 11-6
2. Mario Yanez Tapia (ROC) def. Cole Osborne (F&MM) 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-3
3. Neil Cordell (ROC) def. Dylan Cunningham (F&MM) 11-5, 12-10, 11-3
4. Tomotaka Endo (ROC) def. #40 Alex Arjoon (F&MM) 11-9, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8
5. P. Veiga de Almeida (F&MM) def. William Mohr (ROC) 9-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9
6. M. Bertocchi (ROC) def. #99 Brian Henry (F&MM) 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7
7. Michael Sorochev (F&MM) def. Aria Fazelimanesh (ROC) 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-5
8. Meng Xiaomen (ROC) def. Kareem Mawla (F&MM) 11-6, 11-5, 11-6
9. Gavan Hitchenor (F&MM) def. Ben Pitfield (ROC) 11-8, 11-8, 2-11, 11-7
Exh. Phil Kelly (F&MM) def. C. Riedelsheimer (ROC) 11-7, 11-8, 1-11, 12-10
