LYMAN SQUASH CENTER – Senior co-captain Ryosei Kobayashi rallied from down two games to secure a 3-2 win at the #1 position, lifting #3 Rochester past #1 Trinity 5-4 in College Squash Association action on Saturday afternoon.
 
Entering the third game of his match, Kobayashi knew the situation he was in.  He was trailing 0-2 in his own match and just saw his teammates drop back-to-back matches at #4 and #7 to allow Trinity to pull even at 4-all on the team scoreboard.
 
"After dropping the first two games, I was doubting myself, said Kobayashi.  "My opponent was pushing me hard, and I had no idea what to do.  But seeing the other guys lose their matches, I threw away all that doubt, I just knew I had to do it."
 
Kobayashi ended up defeated Trinity freshman Kush Kumar 8-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8 and 11-8 to secure UR's (7-1) second straight victory over the Bantams and third in the last four meetings.  Last season, Trinity defeated Rochester 5-4 during the regular season, only to see the Yellowjackets avenge that defeat with a 5-4 win in the national semifinals in the Potter Cup tournament.
 
"This win is a massive gain of confidence for our team," said Kobayashi.  "All the games were close but we pulled it out and it is a huge motivation going forward, looking ahead to nationals."
 
The match started in favor of the visiting Bantams (10-1), with Affeeq Ismail winning in four games, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 and 11-7, over Rochester's Aria Fazelimanesh at position #6.  Rochester responded quickly, with Ben Pitfield sweeping the #9 match over Yehia Essam, posting a 14-12, 14-12, 11-9 win to even the match.
 

UR co-captain and junior Tomotaka Endo, the winner of the clinching fifth point in last years national semifinals, then put Rochester on top with a 3-1 win over Michael Craig in a battle of reigning All-Americans.  After dropping the opening game 11-8, Endo rallied for wins of 11-9, 11-6 and 11-5 to pull UR ahead 2-1.
 
The next wave was again 2-1 in favor of Rochester, pulling the Yellowjackets within one point of the match.  Freshman Matthew Toth picked up a decisive 3-1 win at #5 over Tom de Mulder, winning 11-9, 11-13, 11-8 and 11-8, while Trinity's James Evans topped Michelangelo Bertocchi at #8 in four (11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 11-6).
 
Rounding out the middle set of matches was another All-American showdown, this time between two 1st team selections from 2016.  UR's Mario Yanez Tapia squared off with Trinity's Rick Penders, the #4 and #3 players in the CSA from last season.  Saturday's match was all Yanez, as the senior took the match in three games, winning 13-11, 11-5 and 11-4.
 
Trinity battled back though, winning two key matches at #4 and #7 within moments of one another to erase the two-point deficit on the scoreboard.  At #4, Thoboki Molholo and Ricardo Lopez battled to five games, with the Bantams' Molholo earning the match 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 2-11 and 11-8.  Not lost in the defeat was Lopez's tenacity, fighting back from 0-2 to force a fifth game where he also was down 6-0 in points.  The Yellowjacket freshman ended up tying up the score in the game, before succumbing to the Trinity sophomore in the end.
 
At #7, Omar Allaudin dispatched UR's Lawrence Kuhn 12-10, 11-5, 13-15 and 11-7, setting up the winner take all match at the #1 spot.
 
The win is Rochester's third in four days, all coming against top-10 teams in the College Squash Association.  Before Saturday, Trinity had outscored its opponents 86-4 in team scoring this season, but UR doubled the loss column for the Bantams, plus one, in the 5-4 victory.  Trinity is a 15-time national champion, all coming in the last 18 seasons.
 
Rochester's next match is another home contest against a perennial power, with Harvard University (31-time national champions) coming to the Lyman Squash Center next Saturday at noon.