POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 24, 2014) – The Vassar College squash team, currently ranked No. 53 in the nation in the Dunlop Men's Collegiate Squash Rankings, battled in some matches but ended falling to No. 35 Tufts University Friday afternoon in the team's first match after the New Year.

                  Senior captain Ricardo Espinosa (Quito, Ecuador/Colegio Americano de Quito) had some good points at No. 1, but couldn't rally against No. 57 ranked Aditya Advani of Tufts, falling 11-3, 11-6, 11-5. Fellow senior captain Kiet Phun (Lincoln, NE/Lincoln) dropped his No. 2 battle, while Tufts also earned victories in No. 3 and No. 4 to take an early lead.

                  Needing just one more match to clinch the match, Brandon Weiss of the Jumbos earned the win with a win in No. 5 over Vassar's Alan Darer (Chestnut Ridge, NY/Rockland County) with scores of 11-1, 11-5 and 11-5.

                  The most exciting match of the day for the Brewers came at No. 7, as newcomer Noah Kulick (Cambridge, MA/Beaver Country Day) won his first collegiate set with a score of 11-6. Kulick couldn't hang on, falling in four sets, but it was solid debut for the junior. Sophomore Ben Kurchin (Rochester, NY/Harley School) won 15 points in his first collegiate outing at No. 8, while Michael Iselin (Delmar, NY/Doane Stuart School) won the third set of his match 11-8, before dropping the fourth set 11-5.

                  Vassar (2-7) returns to the courts Saturday afternoon, entertaining No.43 Haverford College and No. 32 Northeastern University at 1 p.m. in Kenyon Hall in a tri-match.