January 25, 2003

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College squash team split its matches this afternoon, losing to Amherst College 6-3, and defeating Denison University 5-4. The Statesmen move to 6-3 on the season and are currently ranked 14th in the nation.

In the morning match against Amherst College, Hobart could not overtake the 11th-ranked Jeffs, losing 6-3. Sophomore Tejvir Rathore (Daly College/Indore M.P., India) notched a win for the Statesmen, defeating Gifford Sommerkamp (Bethesda, Md.) 3-1, in the top position. Sophomore Henry Clutsam (Blair Academy/Vernon, N.J.) and junior Richard Reutter (Woodberry Forest/Annapolis, Md.) also garnered victories for the Statesmen at the fifth and eighth spots, respectively.

Facing off against 13th-ranked Denison University in the afternoon matchup, Hobart sneaked past the Big Red with a 5-4 decision. First-year Gavin Johnstone-Butcher (St. Paul’s School/Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) and senior Angel Magaña-Torres (Colegio San Francisco/San Salvador, El Salvador) were both victorious at the second and fourth positions, respectively, while Clutsam garnered his second win of the day, beating Scott Persing (Madison, Conn.) 3-1. At the seventh spot senior Ryan Gillmore (Hawken School/Pepper Pike, Ohio) defeated Nick Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 3-0, and junior John Hildreth (St. Mark’s School/Marblehead, Mass.) brought home the victory for Hobart with a 3-0 defeat of Nick Pellegrin (Newark, Ohio) in the final match of the afternoon.

The Statesmen return to the courts on Feb. 1, when Wesleyan College visits the Dr. Frank P. Smith ’36 Squash Center. The matches are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.