AMHERST, Mass. - The 23rd-ranked Amherst men's squash team extended its win streak to four, defeating #20 Colby 5-4 to wrap up play at the 2011-12 Pioneer Valley Invitational.

The Mules' Harry Smith '12 got the visitors off to a fast start, sweeping Amherst's Dave Kerr '14 (Short Hills, N.J.) by scores of 11-2, 11-5 and 11-5. Will Sullivan '13 then earned a 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8) victory over Steve Severson '12 (Mercer Island, Wash.) before Scott DeSantis '15 (Sudbury, Mass.) got the Jeffs on the board by taking three straight from Roy Simpson '14.

Max Kardon '15 (Weston, Mass.) recorded what proved to be the match-clinching point with an 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 sweep of Nat Cooper '12 in the fourth position, while Charles Loesch-Quintin '13 (Philadelphia, Pa.) outlasted Will Hochman '14, 3-2 in the fifth spot.

Amherst's Todd Lavine '12 (Atherton, Calif.) handed Steve Carroll a 3-0 decision to keep things rolling for the home team, while Colby's Pete Gabranski '13 prevailed over Rodrigo Quan Miranda '14 (San Salvador, El Salvador) in one of the day's most exciting matches. Trailing 2-1 after a closely contested 12-10 decision in the third game, Gabranski earned identical 12-10 triumphs in the fourth and fifth to secure the victory.

Alex Southmayd '15 (Boston, Mass.) rebounded from an 11-8 first game loss to Ben York '15, pulling out a 3-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5) win, while John Eder '15 bested Nick Sorrentino '13 (Middle Village, N.Y.), 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-8), at the bottom of the lineup.

Amherst returns to action at the Little III Championships hosted by Wesleyan University on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Amherst 5, Colby 4
1. Harry Smith (C) def. David Kerr (A), 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-5)
2. Will Sullivan (C) def. Steve Severson (A), 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8)
3. Scott DeSantis (A) def. Roy Simpson (C), 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-9)
4. Max Kardon (A) def. Nat Cooper (C), 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-8)
5. Charles Loesch-Quintin (A) def. Will Hochman (C), 3-2 (8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6)
6. Todd Lavine (A) def. Steve Carroll (C), 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6)
7. Pete Gabranski (C) def. Rodrigo Quan Miranda (A), 3-2 (11-5, 6-11, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10)
8. Alex Southmayd (A) def. Ben York (C), 3-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5)
9. John Eder (C) def. Nick Sorrentino (A), 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-8)