PHILADELPHIA, PA — The #14 Amherst College men's squash team opened its 2026 CSA Divisional Team Championships campaign with a 6–3 victory over #19 Franklin & Marshall on Friday, repeating the same scoreline from the teams' January 11 regular-season meeting. Amherst's depth proved decisive again, with the Mammoths taking all the matches on courts 5–9 after dropping matches on the top two courts. Competing as the second seed in the Hoehn Cup, the Mammoths improved to 12–6 and advanced to the semifinals of the men's Hoehn Cup bracket, which features teams ranked 13–20 nationally.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
-
At #3, Joseph Toth delivered one of the team's quickest wins of the night, sweeping Aditya Chandani 3–0 (11–4, 11–5, 11–4) in 30 minutes to level the overall match.
-
At #6, Fares Khairy matched that efficiency with another 30-minute sweep, defeating Jamie Stait 3–0 (11–9, 11–7, 11–6) to push Amherst firmly in front.
-
The comeback of the evening came at #7 singles, where Flynn Venmore rallied from two games down to stun Akshat Agarwal in five, 3–2 (8–11, 9–11, 11–4, 11–8, 11–1) in 56 minutes. Venmore flipped the momentum with an authoritative third game and then held his nerve in the fourth and fifth games to complete the turnaround and clinch a critical point for the Mammoths.
RESULTS (6–3, W):
1. Kyle Broadhurst (F) def. Roman Parisi (A), 3–0 (11–9, 11–7, 11–7)
2. Sharan Punjabi (F) def. Devon Osborne (A), 3–0 (11–8, 11–4, 11–9)
3.Joseph Toth (A) def. Aditya Chandani (F), 3–0 (11–4, 11–5, 11–4)
4.Toby Clegg-Petri (F) def. Graeme Herbert (A), 3–2 (9–11, 11–3, 6–11, 11–3, 11–7)
5. Zi Tao Yu (A) def. Noah Katzer (F), 3–1 (11–8, 11–6, 9–11, 11–5)
6. Fares Khairy (A) def. Jamie Stait (F), 3–0 (11–9, 11–7, 11–6)
7. Flynn Venmore (A) def. Akshat Agarwal (F), 3–2 (8–11, 9–11, 11–4, 11–8, 11–1)
8. Grady Herbert (A) def. David Vahlsing Jr (F), 3–0 (11–6, 11–8, 11–5)
9. William Okurowski (A) def. Teerth Jilka (F), 3–1 (11–5, 9–11, 11–8, 14–12)
UP NEXT:
With the quarterfinal win, Amherst moves into the Hoehn Cup semifinals, where the Mammoths will face third-seeded Colby, the #15 team in the nation, on Saturday, February 28 at 6 p.m. at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center. It will be the teams' third meeting of the 2025–26 season, and Amherst will look to break through with its first win of the year against the Mules and earn a shot at the Hoehn Cup title.
