The 20th-ranked Middlebury men's squash team opened the second semester on Saturday afternoon, earning a hard-fought 5-4 home victory over 21st-ranked Williams in the Bostwick Family Squash Center. The Panthers (3-2) return to the court on Friday when they travel to Amherst for a 3:00 p.m. match.

Williams (4-4) took the early lead with a three-game victory at No. 3. Middlebury responded with a three-game triumph by Wiatt Hinton over David Pincus in the sixth slot (12-10, 11-8, 11-8). The visitors grabbed a 3-1 lead behind wins at No. 9 and No. 8, respectively.

The Panthers answered with three consecutive victories in the No. 5, No. 2 and No. 7 spots of the ladder. Teddy Best defeated Will Means in the fifth slot (11-9, 11-7, 1-11, 11-5), Jacob Ellen outlasted Wyatt Khosrowshahi in five games at No. 2 (6-11, 11-4, 12-10, 10-12, 11-8), while John Epley was victorious in three games over Krish Bhavnani in the seventh spot (11-6, 12-10, 11-6).

The Ephs knotted the score at 4-4 with a three-game victory at No. 4. In the last match remaining on the courts, the hosts clinched the team victory when Justin Ghaeli edged John Fitzgerald atop the lineup by scores of 11-9, 11-8, 13-11.