Men’s squash an eventful 4-2 on the weekend at Yale Round Robin

Posted by: Andy Walter on January 22, 2006

Jamie White ’06 played three close games in his loss at No. 4 against powerful Yale.

Ricky Weisskopf ’08 was 5-1 over the weekend, including his first loss of the season against one of the premier players in the country, Yale’s Julian Illingsworth.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Bates College men’s squash team had an eventful and productive weekend at the Yale Round Robin, with four easy victories over traditionally close rivals including Denison, Navy and Hobart, a shutout loss to powerhouse No. 4 ranked Yale, and a crushing 3-6 loss to rival Franklin & Marshall College, played as the Bates men were exhausted. 

Bates played two tough back-to-back Friday night matches, with play beginning at 6 p.m. and lasting straight through until 11:45. The Bobcats rallied the next morning for an 8:30 a.m. match against the strong and fit U.S. Naval Academy, a team which had defeated Bates 5-4 in the same event last year, and pulled out a strong 7-2 victory. Immediately after the Navy match, Bates matched up against Franklin & Marshall and had nothing left in a 3-6 loss that the Bobcats “could barely manage to fight for,” said coach John Illig.

With Saturday evening to recover, Bates was able to rise Sunday morning and beat a young Hobart team 9-0. All that remained was the Yale match.

Bates senior co-captain No. 4 Jamie White (Summit, N.J.), played three close games in his loss, and Bates’ other co-captain, sophomore and No. 2 Sean Wilkinson (London, England) won his first two games before dropping the third and then taking an injury default. 

The highlight of the Yale match was with Bates’ No. 1, sophomore Ricky Weisskopf (San Salvador, El Salvador), taking on Yale’s marquee player, senior and four-time No. 1 Julian Illingworth, who is the No. 2 ranked player in intercollegiate squash, and who reached the finals of last year’s individual intercollegiate championship. Up until this match, Weisskopf was a perfect 10-0 on the season and 5-0 on the weekend, having defeated opponents including Denison’s No. 1 Asad Khan from Pakistan, F&M’s No. 1 Rushabh Vora from India, and Hobart’s No. 1 Prateek Patni from India.

Weisskopf, playing the best squash of his short Bates career according to Illig, had been dazzling audiences all weekend and many were curious to see the 1 p.m. Sunday battle between him and Illingworth on the stadium court of Yale’s 15-court facility, a court which is made of 4 glass walls, offering 360-degree viewing for spectators. 

With home cameras rolling to film this match, Weisskopf began playing his sixth match of the weekend, to Illingworth’s first match. On fresher legs, Illingworth was able to prove his mastery of the game that has come with his years of international success. Illingworth showed his strength and prowess, repeatedly retrieving Weisskopf’s near-perfect offensive shots. Weisskopf lost the first two games by identical 6-9 scores, and although he was able to pressure Illingworth with lightning-fast reactions and high-tempo volleying, in the end Illingworth was simply too much, taking the third game 9-0 and easily sustaining his No. 2 intercollegiate squash rank. Weisskopf goes to 10-1 on the season, and 33-4 for his Bates career.

Bates will host Colby College at the Bates Squash Center this Thursday, Jan. 26.

Jan 20 
Bates def. U. Rochester 9-0
1 BAT Ricky Weisskopf def. UR P. Harris 9-4, 9-0, 9-2
2 BAT Sean Wilkinson def. UR J. Acharya 9-3, 9-4, 9-3
3 BAT Gary Kan def. UR R. Gupta 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
4 BAT Peter Goldsborough def. UR D. Carlson 9-6, 9-6, 9-1
5 BAT Chip Russell def. def. UR J. Lynn 9-3, 10-8, 9-0
6 BAT Marc Taggart def. UR R. Pakan 9-1, 9-8, 9-1
7 BAT Charlie Johnson def. UR D. Alrich 9-3, 9-1, 9-0
8 BAT Guillermo Moronta def. UR. E. Biel 9-2, 9-6, 9-3
9 BAT Deacon Chapin def. UR S. Gelb 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
 
Jan 20 
Bates def. Denison7-2
1 BAT Ricky Weisskopf def. DEN A. Khan 9-0, 9-1, 9-1
2 DEN B. Khan def. BAT Sean Wilkinson (6-9), 9-3, 9-5, 9-0
3 BAT Gary Kan def. DEN M. Laverty 9-4, 9-4, 9-7
4 BAT Jamie White def. DEN A. Sheikh 9-5, (3-9), 10-8, 9-1
5 DEN N. Marks def. BAT Peter Goldsborough 9-7, (1-9), 9-7, 9-6
6 BAT Chip Russell def. DEN D. Snell 9-1, 9-0, 9-5
7 BAT Marc Taggart def. DEN M. MacDonald 9-2, 9-4, (4-9), 9-4
8 BAT Charlie Johnson def. DEN N. Pellegrin 9-1, 9-3, (4-9), 9-2
9 BAT Guillermo Moronta def. DEN C. Porter 9-7, 10-8, 9-5
 
Jan 21 
Bates def. Navy 7-2
1 BAT Ricky Weisskopf def.  NAV T. George 9-0, 9-4, 10-8
2 BAT Sean Wilkinson def. NAV J. Sawin 10-8, (4-9), 9-5, 9-3
3 BAT Gary Kan def. NAV S. Hackman 9-3, (2-9), 9-3, (8-10), 9-2
4 BAT Jamie White def. NAV A. Smith 10-8, 9-7, 9-0
5 BAT Peter Goldsborough def. NAV K. Zipf (8-10), 9-2, 9-3, 9-3
6 BAT Chip Russell def. NAV W. Pappas 9-2, 9-1, 9-0
7 NAV B. Hamilton def. BAT Marc Taggart 9-2, 9-3, 9-3
8 BAT Charlie Johnson def. NAV M. Beautyman 10-8, (3-9), 9-3, 9-3
9 NAV P. Kruse def. BAT Guillermo Moronta def. 9-7, 9-5, 9-5
 
Jan 21 
F&M def. Bates 6-3
1 BAT Ricky Weisskopf def. F&M R. Vora 9-2, (2-9), 9-5, 9-4
2 F&M S. Seshadri def. BAT Sean Wilkinson def. 9-7, (4-9), 9-4, (3-9), 9-7
3 F&M J. Aibara def. BAT Gary Kan def. 9-6, (4-9), 9-3, 9-0
4 BAT Jamie White def. F&M R. Hawley 10-8, 9-2, 9-1
5 F&M E. Bryan def. BAT Peter Goldsborough def. 9-7, 9-0, (9-10), 9-7
6 F&M S. Cruice def. BAT Chip Russell def. 9-5, 9-6, (2-9), 9-4
7 BAT Marc Taggart def. F&M P. Pasquariello 10-8, (0-9), 9-4, 10-8
8 F&M S. Slater def. BAT Charlie Johnson def. 10-9, (6-9), 9-5, (8-10), 9-6
9 F&M E. Burton def. BAT Guillermo Moronta def. 9-4, 10-8, 9-2
 
Jan 22 
Bates def. Hobart 9-0
1 BAT Ricky Weisskopf def. HO P. Patni 9-2, 9-4, 9-4
2 BAT Sean Wilkinson def. HO C. Forgues 9-6, 9-2, 9-2
3 BAT Gary Kan def. HO J. Keating 9-0, 9-4, 9-1
4 BAT Jamie White def. HO P. Hansen 9-1, 9-1, 9-2
5 BAT Peter Goldsborough def. HO K. O’Connor 9-1, 9-0, 9-1
6 BAT Chip Russell def. HO G. Gardiner 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
7 BAT Marc Taggart def. HO A. Childs (6-9), 9-0, 9-4, 9-4
8 BAT Deacon Chapin def. HO B. Draper 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
9 BAT Rob Munro def. HO M. Jacobus 9-3, 9-2, 9-3
 
Jan 22 
Yale def. Bates 9-0
1 YAL J. Illingworth def. BAT Ricky Weisskopf 9-6, 9-6, 9-0
2 YAL H. Chiu def. BAT Sean Wilkinson (3-9), (8-10), 9-0, def.
3 YAL M. Safarty def. BAT Gary Kan 9-0, 9-2, 9-1
4 YAL A. Geva BAT Jamie White 9-7, 10-8, 9-4
5 YAL F. Johnson def. BAT Peter Goldsborough 9-1, 9-2, 9-2
6 YAL A. Tilton def. BAT Chip Russell 9-0, 9-1, 9-7
7 YAL J. Rector def. BAT Marc Taggart 9-1, 9-5, 9-0
8 YAL C. Campbell def. BAT Charlie Johnson 9-1, 9-1, 9-2
9 YAL B. Hatch def. BAT Guillermo Moronta 9-2, 9-0, 9-7