In a closely contested NESCAC rivalry, #29 Connecticut College secured a hard-fought 5-4 victory over #25 Hamilton College in this week’s CSA Men’s Match of the Week. The match, held on Wednesday, January 8, at Hamilton’s home courts in Clinton, New York, featured high-stakes competition as both teams looked to make their mark in the conference rankings.
The opening matches set the stage for a dramatic contest. Connecticut’s Alejandro Moncada Gonzalez (#1) earned an early win in three games, while Hamilton’s Cooper Jessop (#6) responded with a dominant three-game victory. The standout performance of the first round came from Oliver Machiels (#9) of Conn College, who battled through five grueling games, clinching an 11-13 win in the fifth to give his team an early advantage.
The second round of matches continued the excitement. Siddhant Rewari (#5) gave Connecticut an important win with a dominant straight-games performance. Jacob Stoffman (#8) delivered a crucial point for Hamilton, keeping his team in the match with a well-earned four-game victory. Hudson Dunn (#2) then capped off the round for Connecticut, staging a thrilling five-game comeback after trailing 2-1 to extend Conn’s lead to 4-2.
The final round featured an electrifying finish as Hamilton needed to win all three remaining matches to complete the comeback. Simon Muller (#7) was the first to finish, delivering a three-game sweep to narrow the gap to 4-3. Meanwhile, matches featuring Henry Pelletier (#3) for Connecticut and Jacob Shulman (#4) for Hamilton unfolded simultaneously, with both players delivering strong performances under immense pressure. Shulman won a hard-fought five-game match, while Pelletier clinched the decisive fifth point for Connecticut with a composed four-game victory. The near-simultaneous finishes provided a dramatic conclusion to the closely contested match.
Connecticut College Head Coach Tim Lasusa praised his team’s resilience. “Going into the match we knew it was going to be a battle,” he said. “We’ve had some tough matches so far this year, with us losing some tight ones, so for us to get the result was great. A couple key things have started to come together, so hopefully we can keep the momentum going and get geared up for some more tough matches ahead.”
Key performances for Connecticut included Hudson Dunn and Oliver Machiels, both of whom came from 2-1 down to win in five games, showcasing grit and determination under pressure.
Connecticut College will look to build on this momentum as they continue their NESCAC schedule.
