The #20 Middlebury men's squash team kicked off its season-opening weekend with a 1-1 record. The Panthers posted a 7-2 victory over Connecticut College on Saturday before falling Sunday by the same score to #4 Trinity.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. CONNECTICUT COLLEGE

• Gabe Feinstein earned his first career triumph with a 3-0 sweep (11-9, 11-4, 12-10) of Sid Rewari from the #4 spot. 
• Aditya Kothari also tallied a three-game win at #7. 
• Alexis Ballo, Caleb Boateng, Charlie Clifford, Ronin Kaplan and David Zhao each swept their opponents to increase the advantage to 7-0 as Clifford clinched the match with a three-game triumph at #5.
• Nathan Finestein and Kian Kardestuncer battled against their opponents in the top-two spots of the ladder before falling in five-game thrillers.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. TRINITY

• Trinity took the opening point in a sweep in the 4th slot before Alexis Ballo countered with a 14-12, 11-9, 14-12 decision in the eighth spot. 
• The Bantams took back momentum immediately after with victories in the #2, #5 and #1 places on the ladder to go up 4-1.
• Zhao put forward a strong performance in the ninth position, rebounding after dropping the opening game to win in five (9-11, 11-3, 11-8, 5-11, 11-1).
• Ahmed Ismail clinched the match for the home squad in a sweep at #3 before the sixth and seven slot matches fell in favor of Trinity for the final 7-2 score.

NOTES

• Middlebury has won all 10 head-to-head matchups against Connecticut College. 
• Trinity and the Panthers met for the first time since the 2021-22 season. 

Middlebury stays on the road, heading to the Empire State to face Hobart on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.