MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — The 10th-ranked Navy squash team earned a 5-4 road victory over No. 20 Middlebury (0-1) Friday night to remain unbeaten at 11-0 this season. The Mids, who made the long trek to Vermont on Friday, found themselves trailing by one (4-3) with two matches to go, but once again rallied behind the veteran play at the top of the ladder to capture the victory.

The evening opened with No. 3, 6 and 9 matches on the court with Navy coming away with an early 1-0 lead. Rookie Ben Korn (Stevenson, Md.) has been stout for the Mids, pushing his record to 10-0 this season with a 3-0 sweep over Middlebury freshman Nate Moll at No. 9.

Remarkably, the next match to finish was the No. 8 battle between Middlebury's Thomas Wolpow and Navy's Danny Finnegan (So, Williamstown, Mass.) after both the No. 3 and 6 matches went the distance. Wolpow swept Finnegan in three to level the match at one win apiece.

Navy and Middlebury would go on to split the No. 3 and 6 matches. Michael Kacergis (Jr, Malvern, Pa.) saved match ball in the fourth to go on an capture a thrilling 3-2 victory at No. 3, and he, too, improved to 10-0 on the year. Meanwhile, Jamie Kjorlien (Sr, Greenwich, Conn.) held a 2-0 advantage over Middlebury sophomore Wiatt Hinton, but dropped a heartbreaker as Hinton battled back to win the final three games.

Owen Davis (Jr, Rydal, Pa.) was tripped up in his opening game against Middlebury's Jacob Ellen, 11-7, but regrouped and won the next three to take that victory at No. 2 and give the Mids' a 3-2 advantage.

The Panthers not only went on to knot the match, but took their first lead with wins at the No. 5 and 7 positions. Middlebury's John Epley dealt Navy rookie Ryan York (Hunt Valley, Md.) a 3-1 loss, while Teddy Best defeated Navy senior Dylan Sweeney (New York, N.Y.), 3-1.

No stranger to this scenario, Navy has stared down adversity in prior matches this season. The Mids came back from a 4-1 deficit to capture a 5-4 win over Western Ontario, while Navy was deadlocked against Virginia going into the final match before earning a 5-4 victory.

Navy team captain Senen Ubina (Sr, Greenwich, Conn.) sparked the rally by rolling past third-year standout Nick Bermingham in three games to square the match at 4.

For the third time this year, the spotlight has been put on Jack Lentz (So, Philadelphia, Pa.), the Mids' No. 1 player, and for a third time, he proved he has ice water flowing through his veins. Lentz jumped out to a 2-0 lead in his match, but Middlebury's William Cembalest battled back to take game three, 17-15. Lentz went on to earn the victory after Cembalest was forced to retire after suffering from cramps in the fourth game.

"What a match," said first-year Navy head coach Tyler Osborne. "It was a really fun and exciting match to watch tonight and I'm proud of my guys for continuing to fight in the face of more adversity. We had several players come up big tonight - Michael fighting off match point in the fourth, Senen tying the match and Jack's battled through his match.

"It's a shame to end the match the way it did and I wish Middlebury's No. 1 player a quick recovery."

The Midshipmen will be back in action on Saturday when they face No. 7 Dartmouth at 12:00 pm.


#10 Navy def. #20 Middlebury, 5-4
1 | Jack Lentz (N) def. William Cembalest (M), 12-10, 11-8, 15-17, 11-1
2 | Owen Davis (N) def. Jacob Ellen (M), 7-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5
3 | Michael Kacergis (N) def. Justin Ghaeli (M), 13-11, 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8
4 | Senen Ubina (N) def. Nick Bermingham (M), 11-3, 11-8, 11-8
5 | Teddy Best (M) def. Dylan Sweeney (N), 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5
6 | Wiatt Hinton (M) def. Jamie Kjorlien (N), 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9
7 | John Epley (M) def. Ryan York (N), 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8
8 | Thomas Wolpow (M) def. Danny Finnegan (N), 11-5, 11-7, 11-6
9 | Ben Korn (N) def. Nate Moll (M), 11-4, 11-6, 11-5
Exh | Gus Prager (N) def. Alex Giles (M), 11-5, 11-3, 11-1

### Go Navy ###