The 19th-ranked Middlebury men's squash team fell by a narrow 5-4 decision on Saturday to visiting Franklin & Marshall. The Panthers (5-4) return to action on Sunday with their home finale against #15 Cornell beginning at 12:00 p.m.

Against the 16th-ranked Diplomats (2-7), the hosts grabbed an early lead by winning the first two matches to finish, each coming in three games. William Kurth won at #9 over Mike Sorochev (11-5, 11-6, 11-3), while John Epley defeated King Bassett in the sixth slot (11-8, 11-6, 11-5).

F&M got on the scoreboard with a three-game victory at #3. A four-game triumph by Middlebury's Thomas Wolpow in the eighth position over Frank Murray by scores of 11-3, 3-11, 11-7 and 11-5 pushed the Panther advantage to 3-1.

The Diplomats regained the lead with wins at #5, #2 and #4 respectively, before a four-game win from Alex Merrill in the seventh spot over Ricardo Machado (7-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-5) knotted the match at 4-4.

The final match on the courts was in the top spot of the ladder, where Franklin & Marshall earned the team victory by a four-game decision.