Dec. 5, 2009

Complete Results

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Led by a pair of victories by 29th-ranked Nils Mattsson (Spring House, Pa.), the Navy squash team split its two matches played Saturday at Williams College. The 14th-ranked Mids dropped their opener against the 10th-ranked hosts, 8-1, but bounced back to secure an important 6-3 victory over No. 15 St. Lawrence.

Mattsson, the Mids' team captain, fought his way to a 3-1 victory over Williams' Ethan Buchsbaum, the 41st-ranked player in the country, before sweeping St. Lawrence rookie Amay Merchant, 11-5, 11-9, 11-5. Not only does Mattsson improve to 8-2 on the year, he is now 76-27 over his four-year career and continues to eye the record for wins under the direction of head coach Craig Dawson which is held by Jeff Sawin who won 89 matches from 2004-08.

Fellow senior Ben Mantica (Binghamton, N.Y.) has also won 76 matches during his four-year career thanks to a three-game sweep over St. Lawrence's Scott Phillips. Mantica, who is ranked 81st, nearly knocked off Williams' William Morris, ranked 67th, as he took a 2-1 lead. Morris, however, rallied to take games four and five, 11-9 and 11-7, respectively, to hold off Mantica.

Navy's rookie class continues to thrive, as Billy Abrams (Wilmington, Del.), Hunter Bouchard (Greenville, Del.) and John Richey (West Hartford, Conn.) all claimed wins over their St. Lawrence foes. Both Abrams and Bouchard won four-game matches against their nationally-ranked opponents. Abrams took an 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 decision over No. 101 Nick Pearson, while Bouchard scored a 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6 triumph over 162nd-ranked Michael Badali. Richey, meanwhile, had little trouble in securing a 3-0 win against 163rd-ranked Ben Ross.

Navy's final win of the day was by junior Tommy McNamara (New York, N.Y.) who was involved in an entertaining five-game contest. St. Lawrence's Roger Miller struck first with an 11-8 win, but McNamara evened the score by taking game two by an 11-8 count. Game three was won by Miller, 13-11, but McNamara came right back to take the equalizer, 11-6. McNamara outlasted his foe in the fifth behind a 13-11 effort.

The Midshipmen, who are now 13-3, will play their final match before the holiday break next Friday when they travel to New Jersey to battle second-ranked Princeton. Action is set for 6:00 pm.

Dec. 5, 2009 • Williams 8, Navy 11.   Nils Mattsson (N) def. Ethan Buchsbaum (W)              12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-82.   William Morris (W) def. Ben Mantica (N)                 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-73.   Christian Henze (W) def. Brad Seidel (N)                8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-84.   Nick Marks (W) def. Justin Langan (N)                   11-9, 11-8, 11-45.   Bernard Yaros (W) def. Billy Abrams (N)                 7-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-46.   Julian Drobetsky (W) def. Hunter Bouchard (N)           11-6, 5-11, 11-5, 11-87.   Alexander Greaves-Tunnell (W) def. Tommy McNamara (N)   11-6, 11-1, 8-11, 11-78.   Ryan Eagan (W) def. John Richey (N)                     6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-49.   Jeremy Herrmann (W) def. David Koenig (N)               11-6, 11-7, 11-5
Dec. 5, 2009 • Navy 6, St. Lawrence 31.   Nils Mattsson (N) def. Amay Merchant (SL)               11-5, 11-9, 11-52.   Ben Mantica (N) def. Scott Phillips (SL)                11-7, 15-13, 15-133.   Jermaine Xaba (SL) def. Brad Seidel (N)                 12-10, 8-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-74.   Tyler Stout (SL) def. Justin Langan (N)                 11-8, 11-6, 11-85.   Billy Abrams (N) def. Nick Pearson (SL)                 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-86.   Hunter Bouchard (N) def. Michael Badali (SL)            13-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-67.   Tommy McNamara (N) def. Roger Miller (SL)               8-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6, 13-118.   John Richey (N) def. Ben Ross (SL)                      13-11, 11-9, 11-89.   Russell Woeltz (SL) def. David Koenig (N)               11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10