CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 8 Virginia men’s squash team (7-3) battled against No. 13 Western Ontario (7-1) on Sunday (Jan. 12) at the McArthur Squash Center, capturing a 5-4 win to edge the Mustangs and remain undefeated at home.   
 
“A huge win from the men today, with every player from the bottom of the order to the top giving it their best effort,” head coach Mark Allen said. “Western Ontario came into the match undefeated so far this season and they destroyed us last time we played in the CSA nationals just two years ago, so we knew it would be very tough, particularly through the middle order where they’d hardly lost a match. But we won where we had to, at the top and the bottom of the order, with captain Toby (Hansford) and first-year Teddy (Durfee) playing calm and composed squash for us to come from 4-3 down and take the last two matches and the match overall. I’m really proud of their performance today, and I’m looking forward to our home match against Brown on Wednesday.”
 
The Mustangs captured the first point of the day with a win in position six. Freshman Aly Hussein (Cairo, Egypt) responded with a 3-0 win in position one, defeating David Mill 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 . Junior William Braff (Locust Valley, N.Y.) followed with a five-game victory in position seven, topping Adam Vanwyngaarden 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, to move the score to 2-1 in favor of the Cavaliers.
 
A Western Ontario win in position four evened the match, but once again the Cavaliers found the lead as freshman Omar El Torkey (New Cairo, Egypt) captured a point with a win in position two. Torkey defeated Matthew Henderson 11-2, 11-5, 11-9.
 
The Mustangs gained control of the match with back-to-back wins in positions five and three, respectively. However, a 12-10, 11-8, 11-4 win from senior Toby Hansford (Darien, Conn.) in position eight against Jackson Key kept the Cavaliers alive and tied the match for the final time at 4-4.
 
With the focus on position nine, freshman Teddy Durfee (Bedford, N.Y.) won the first game 11-3, but Western Ontario’s William Kuhn rallied to even the score at 1-1 with an 11-5 win in game two. Durfee battled back capturing an 11-5 third-game win before clinching the match with an 11-4 score in game four.
 
The Cavaliers recorded their sixth win of the season at the McArthur Squash Center to remain undefeated at home. The loss was the first for the Mustangs in College Squash Association action and only the second loss of the season for the program against all opponents.
 
Virginia will return to action on Wednesday (Jan. 15) as the team hosts No. 16 Brown at the McArthur Squash Center. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m.
 
No. 8 Virginia def. No. 13 Western Ontario 5-4
Order of Finish (6, 1, 7, 4 , 2, 5, 3, 8, 9)
1 | Aly Hussein (UVA) def. David Mill (WO) 11-8, 11-7, 11-6
2 | Omar El Torkey (UVA) def. Matthew Henderson (WO) 11-2, 11-5, 11-9
3 | Liam Marrison (WO) def. Will Holey (UVA) 11-7, 11-8, 11-9
4 | Akasham Rajagopaul (WO) def. Cullen Little (UVA) 11-5, 9-11, 13-11, 11-3
5 | Brett Schille (WO) def. Glenn Yates (UVA) 11-8, 11-9, 15-13
6 | Elliott Hunt (WO) def. Peter Miller (UVA) 11-6, 11-4, 11-3
7 | William Braff (UVA) def. Adam Vanwyngaarden (WO) 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4
8 | Toby Hansford (UVA) def. Jackson Kay (WO) 12-10, 11-8, 11-4
9 | Teddy Durfee (UVA) def. William Kuhn (WO) 11-3, 5-11, 11-5, 11-4
Exh | Matthew Katz (UVA) def. Douglas Kosciukiewicz (WO) 10-12, 4-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4