No. 13 Bates men’s squash edges No. 14 Bowdoin, 5-4, in Brunswick
BRUNSWICK, Maine – Sophomore All-American Ricky Weisskopf upped his individual record to 13-1 on the season, while teammates Sean Wilkinson and Peter Goldsborough pulled out gutty wins as the No. 13 nationally ranked Bates College men’s squash team edged rival No. 14 Bowdoin College 5-4 at Bowdoin Wednesday night.
“In my 15 years of coaching college squash, this was very easily one of the most dramatic and closely contested matches I’ve seen or been a part of,” said Bates head coach John Illig.
Bates raised its record to 8-6, while Bowdoin fell to 7-6.
After the first three matches of the night, at positions 3, 6 and 9, the Bobcats found themselves unenviably down in a deep hole at 0-3 and with nothing to show for their efforts, since Bowdoin came from behind to win freshman Chris Nerhbas’ five-game match at No. 3: 4-9, 10-8, 4-9, 9-2, 9-6, and classmate Elliot Beck’s five-game match at No. 6: 7-9, 9-6, 6-9, 9-4, 9-7.
The tide suddenly began to turn, however, with No. 5 Goldsborough somehow finding his way back. He won his third and fourth games to tie up his match at two games all, and in his fifth game he rode his momentum to a 9-0 victory, winning in a dramatic 2-9, 8-10, 9-4, 9-7, 9-0. Meanwhile, Bowdoin’s Jake Sack swept Bates first-year Marc Taggart (Skippack, Pa.) 3-0 at No. 7: 10-9, 10-8, 9-1.
Three matches remained, and Bowdoin was up 2-1 in games at No. 2. As Goldsborough had found a way, suddenly so too did Bates No. 2 Wilkinson start to show some brilliant sparks, as he evened up his match at two games all by taking the fourth game 9-3. Tied 2 games all, this became the pivotal match, as Bates senior co-captain No. 4 Jamie White (Summit, N.J.) went storming out to a one-sided lead and very quickly walked away with a 9-2, 9-1, 9-3 win while the Wilkinson-Salzman battle was still raging on the center court.
White’s win made it Bowdoin 4, Bates 3.
Two matches remained — and a Bates come-from-behind win at No. 2 for Wilkinson was looking possible now and would tie the match score at 4-4 with only the No. 1’s remaining, a clear advantage to Bates with sophomore All-American Ricky Weisskopf ready to play.
Wilkinson, a sophomore from London, England, outlasted Bowdoin senior Bruce Saltzman at the No. 2 position, 9-7, 7-9, 7-9, 9-3, 9-5. Wilkinson improbably went out a large lead in his fifth and final game, delighting the previously down-and-out Bates crowd. They could feel that the comeback was in hand, and Wilkinson rode to victory: 9-7, 7-9, 7-9, 9-3, 9-5.
Weisskopf had little problem winning at the No. 1 position, 9-1, 9-1, 9-0, to clinch the win for Bates.
“I never say this but am always just itching to utter to him, pre-match before he takes to the court: ‘Ricky, go in there and do that thing that you do where you hit the ball where no one can get to it and it nicks out,’” said Illig.
Bates plays five matches this weekend at home, beginning with No. 8 Dartmouth Friday at 5 p.m.
“From this coach’s perspective, it was amazing to see the high level of class, sportsmanship and character displayed by all members of both teams,” said Illig.
Bates Men defeat Bowdoin 5-4
1 BATES Ricky Weisskopf def. BOW M. Dresher 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
2 BATES Sean Wilkinson def. BOW B. Salzman 9-7, 7-9, 7-9, 9-3, 9-5
3 BOW C. Nerhbas def. BATES Gary Kan 4-9, 10-8, 4-9, 9-2, 9-6
4 BATES Jamie White def. BOW Z. Linhardt 9-2, 9-1, 9-3
5 BATES Peter Goldsborough def. BOW N. Adams 2-9, 8-10, 9-4, 9-7, 9-0
6 BOW E. Beck def. BATES Chip Russell 7-9, 9-6, 6-9, 9-4, 9-7
7 BOW J. Sack def. BATES Marc Taggart 10-9, 10-8, 9-1
8 BATES Charlie Johnson def. BOW C. Metcalf 9-7, 10-8, 1-9, 9-0
9 BOW R. Lynn def. BATES Deacon Chapin 9-5, 9-5, 9-4