Seven Saints Unbeaten in Four Weekend Matches
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Dale WalkerAlex Dodge went 4-0 in weekend matches
Seven members of St. Lawrence University's men's squash team were perfect for the weekend as the 16th-ranked Saints went 4-0 in three days of competition.
The Saints improved to 9-6 heading into a Friday night home match against the University of Western Ontario on the Robie Squash Courts. The Saints beat 17th ranked Middlebury on Friday to open the weekend series, winning 6-3 at Middlebury. They then beat Connecticut College 8-1 and Wesleyan 9-0 in matches at Amherst on Saturday and topped 19th ranked Tufts 8-1 at Amherst on Sunday.
Alex Dodge, Tyler Stout, Nick Pearson, Mike Badali, Thoma Kraft, Roger Miller and Ben Ross all went unbeaten in the four matches. Stout improved to 12-2 on the season while Pearson, Badali and Ross also reached double digits in wins for the season.Dodge, who returned to action in January after studying abroad in the first semester, was named Liberty League co-Player of the Week while Amay Merchant, who lost only one match in the weekend series, shared the league's Rookie of the Week honors.
In the Middlebury match, Scott Phillips lost 3-0 at one and Amay Merchant was beaten 3-2 at two, but Dodge won 3-1 at three. Jermaine Xaba lost 3-1 at four, but the Saints swept the rest of the matches, Stout winning 3-1 at five, Pearson 3-1 at six, Badali 3-1 at seven, Kraft 3-0 at eight, Miller 3-0 at nine and Ross 3-0 in the exhibition at ten.
Phillips lost a tough 3-2 decision to Caleb Garza of Connecticut College at one, but the Saints swept the rest of the matches for their 8-1 win over the 27th-ranked Camels. Mercahnt won 3-0 at two, Dodge was a 3-1 winner at three, Xaba won 3-0 at four, Stout won 3-1 at five, and Pearson, Badali, Kraft, Miller and Ross all won by 3-0 scores.
The Saints won eight of the ten matches against Wesleyan by 3-0 scores with Merchant and Robert Broadfoot splitting their first two games before Merchant won 3-1 and Pearson and Lonnie Gibbs trading wins before Pearson closed it out for a 3-1 victory.
Alex Gross edged Phillips at one for the only win for 19th-ranked Tufts against the Saints on Sunday. Merchant, Dodge and Xaba all won 3-0 in the two through four slots, Stout won 3-1 at five and Pearson and Badali were 3-0 winners at six and seven. Kraft went the full five games before beating Scott Leighton at eight, coming from two games down to win 8-11, 9-11, 11-3, 12-10, 11-2. Miller and Ross each won by 3-0 scores at nine and ten.