The 17th-ranked Middlebury men's squash team rattled off consecutive ranked triumphs over #16 Franklin & Marshall and #23 Dickinson by 7-2 and 8-1 finals, respectively, on Saturday and Sunday at the Bostwick Family Squash Center.
 
HIGHLIGHTS VS. FRANKLIN & MARSHALL

• The sides traded outcomes early. Naum Lekovic opened the match with a sweep in the #9 spot, defeating Teerth Jilka by an 11-9, 11-5, 11–4 score, before Kyle Broadhurst earned a three-game triumph in the second position to tie the affair at 1-1.
• The hosts rattled off five straight wins to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Caleb Boateng pushed the Panthers back in front with a sweep of Noah Katzer, surrendering just 11 points in the fifth spot. Nico Brown answered an opening loss with 11-2 and 11-1 efforts before grinding out an 11-9 win to seal the four-game victory at #7.
• Gabe Feinstein continued the momentum at the top of the ladder. The sophomore nabbed the opening frames (11-5 and 11-6) before Sharan Punjabi took the following two (11-8 and 12-10). Feinstein stood his ground, carving out a 12-10 decision in the clincher.
• Kian Kardestuncer also battled through a marathon in the fourth slot against Toby Clegg-Petri to clinch the match. Both sides split the first four games until Kardestuncer sealed an 11-6 victory in the fifth game.
• After the Diplomats earned a sweep at #3, Ronin Kaplan and Theo Kogan logged five-game victories to secure the 7-2 win. Kaplan took the first, second and fifth frames in the #8 match, while Kogan dug out of a two-game hole with a reverse sweep in the sixth position.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. DICKINSON

• All nine of Sunday's matches were sweeps, with eight favoring the Panthers. After an 11-9 opener, Kogan did not concede a point across his final two games against Cormac Sullivan at the #5 spot.
• Charlie Clifford allowed just four points in his #9 win over George Vollmer V, while Aditya Kothari, Kaplan and Boateng each rolled to wins in the second, seventh and fourth positions. 
• After Joe Smythe finalized an 11-2, 12-10, 11-8 win atop the ladder, the Middlebury trio of Lekovic, Brown and Kardestuncer tallied the final three wins to secure the match.

NOTES

• The Panthers and Diplomats battled for the 14th time.
• Middlebury battled Dickinson in the seventh installment of the all-time series.

The Panthers continue their 10-match homestand on Friday, January 16 against #21 Bowdoin at 4:00 p.m.