Jan. 27, 2007

Results

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The 13th-ranked Bates squash team outlasted the No. 10 Midshipmen Saturday morning in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss by Navy on the second day of the Yale Round Robin. The Mids dropped three of their five matches in four or five-game decisions.

In an exciting matchup at the No. 4 spot on the ladder, Navy junior Jeff Sawin (Haverford, Pa.), ranked No. 75, defeated 89th-ranked Kush Mahan, a freshman, in a marathon match. Sawin won the second and third games, 9-7 and 9-8, respectively, to take a 2-1 lead in the match, but Mahan pushed the match to a fifth game by winning game four, 9-6. Sawin muscled his way to the win by defeating Mahan in the fifth, 9-0.

Dan Hellier (Modesto, Calif.) earned an impressive 9-6, 9-2, 9-7 victory over sophomore Deacon Chapin at the No. 8 spot, while Christopher Zipf (Gladwyne, Pa.) earned a 9-3, 9-3, 9-6 decision over Bates' Marc Taggart at No. 7. Sophomore Alastair Smith (Hillsborough, N.J.), one of four players ranked in the top100, knocked off veteran player Gary Kan, 9-1, 9-5, 9-3, at the No. 3 position.

Navy junior Brian Hamilton (Lake Forest, Ill.) lost a heartbreaker at the No. 9 slot. Bates' Charlie Johnson, a sophomore, opened up a 2-1 lead, but Hamilton edged Johnson in the fourth game, 10-9, sending the match to a fifth and final game. Johnson came out the victor by putting away Hamilton, 9-5.

Rookie Ben Mantica (Binghamton, N.Y.) also lost a touch decision to Bates' Chip Russell after building a 2-1 lead with 9-4 and 9-3 wins in the third and fourth games, respectively, Russell came back to claim the match with back-to-back wins, 9-2, 9-6.

The Mids face the host Yale Bulldogs later today in what what is scheduled as their final match of the day.