The 19th-ranked Middlebury men's squash team opened its 2017-18 season with a 9-0 victory on Saturday at Hamilton in the Little Squash Center. The Panthers (1-0) return to action when they host 10th-ranked Dartmouth next Saturday in their home opener at 6:00 p.m.

In the win over the Continentals, the visitors recorded three-game victories in eight of the nine matches. Jack Kagan started things off with a win at No. 3 (11-4, 11-4, 11-3) over Nicholas Conzelman, while Alex Merrill picked up his first collegiate victory in the sixth spot (11-3, 11-3, 11-9) against Atticus Jones. Sam Giddins edged William Jordan at No. 9 (11-8, 11-9, 11-6), while William Cembalest made it a 4-0 score with an 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 win over Callum Sondhi in the second slot.

Thomas Wolpow clinched the match with an 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 triumph against Ward Urban. In the day's most exciting match, Middlebury's Henry Pearson needed five games to get past Tristan Chaix by scores of 20-22, 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10 at No. 5.

The final three victories for the Panthers were recorded in three games by Wiatt Hinton (11-3, 11-3, 11-2) against Jonathan Ruth at No. 7, Jacob Ellen in the top spot (14-12, 11-7, 11-4) against Colin O'Dowd, while Nick Bermingham posted an 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 win at No. 4 against John Sawyers to complete the sweep.