The 21st-ranked Middlebury men's squash team topped #19 Bates 5-4 in the College Squash Association (CSA) Summers Cup Consolation Final on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers were edged 5-4 by St. Lawrence in the opening round of the cup, but answered with a 7-2 victory over Hamilton in the consolation semifinals to advance to the final. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Bobcats earned the first point of the day with a three-game win in the ninth slot.
• Middlebury knotted the match at 1-1 with a point in the second spot. Will Lichstein avenged his loss from the regular season to Jonathan Walker. He raced out to a 2-0 lead, but the third game was a back-and-forth affair before Lichstein was able to edge Walker 14-12 to earn the 3-0 victory. 
• PK Keller gave the Panthers a 2-1 edge with a sweep at #4. He won each game by identical scores of 11-7.
• In the sixth spot, Theo Kogan outlasted Labeeb Ali to extend Middlebury's advantage to 3-1. The duo battled back-and-forth in a thrilling five-game match for the second time this season, but on this occasion, Kogan came away with the win (12-10, 6-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-6). 
• The match at #8 was also a back-and-forth affair, but Bates' Sultan Hashmi edged Alexis Ballo 3-2 to cut the Panther lead down to one (3-2).
• The Bobcats knotted the contest at 3-3 with a sweep at the top of the ladder.
• Middlebury took a 4-3 edge with a point at #3. Caleb Boateng trailed 1-0, but answered with three-straight victories to earn the 3-1 triumph.
• Kian Kardestuncer clinched the match for the Panthers with a 3-0 (8, 7, 9) victory in the fifth spot. 
• Trailing 2-0 at #7, Julian Sandoval came from behind to knot the match 2-2, but fell in the fifth game 11-4 as Bates grabbed the final point of the contest. 

 
Several Panthers will be selected to compete in the CSA Individual and Doubles Championship, with the field being announced early this week.