The #17/fifth-seeded Middlebury men's squash team grinded out a 5-4 victory on Saturday over #20/eighth-seeded University of Rochester in the Hoehn Cup Consolation Semifinal at the College Squash Association (CSA) Divisional Team Championships.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Theo Kogan put the Panthers on the board with his win via retirement in the sixth slot before Rochester's Gilberto Aceves Moreno tallied a four-game triumph (8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8) to knot the contest at 1-1.
• Middlebury grabbed the momentum back when Nico Brown secured an 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4 victory over Van Inman-Benavente. Caleb Boateng followed suit, sweeping his opponent at #5 (13-11, 11-3, 11-2) to up the lead to 3-1.
• The sides traded points over the next two finishers. Dhirren Rajarathinam earned a 3-0 decision in the second spot and Charlie Clifford countered with a victory in four games by 11-7, 4-11, 11-3 and 11-9 scores to put the Panthers on the brink of clinching.
• Kareem Azzam kept the Yellowjackets alive via a 3-0 decision in the middle of the ladder, but Naum Lekovic denied the comeback (15-13, 11-2, 11-9) at #9 to seal the decision.
• Rochester closed the match with a 3-1 win in the third slot for the final 5-4 score.

NOTES

• The sides met for the fifth time in men's squash, with the Panthers winning each of the last two battles.

Middlebury closes the CSA Divisional Team Championships with a battle against #17 Franklin and Marshall in the Hoehn Cup Consolation Final on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.