NEW YORK – Senior Jake Koeppel picked up the lone win for the University of Rochester squash team on Sunday afternoon during an 8-1 loss against Columbia University at the SL Green Streetsquash Center.
 
Koeppel won in a tough five-game match at the number six position, earning his first win of the 2024-25 campaign. The senior defeated Gonzalo De La Mora, winning the opening two games 11-9 and 11-7 before seeing De La Mora bounce back. The Lions number six player pulled even with 11-6 and 12-10 wins over the next two games, before Koeppel responded in the final game to win 11-7.
 
The Koeppel win was the lone five-game match in the top nine, but first-year Karim Moataz battled to the maximum number of games at the exhibition number ten slot versus Andrew Jung. Jung would emerge victorious, winning 12-10, 7-11, 10-12, 12-10 and 11-6.
 
Two other matches went to four games on the day, as seniors Yash Fadte and Omar Zakaria each took a game against their opponent at number one and two, respectively. Fadte won the opening game 11-8 against Arhan Chandra, before his Columbia opponent stormed back for the win with three straight triumphs by 11-5, 11-7 and 11-0 scores.
 
At two, Franklyn Smith topped Zakaria three games to one by a score of 11-8, 10-12, 11-7 and 12-10.
 
The Lions ended up taking the other six matches in 3-0 sweeps, but several of those contests remained close.
 
In the number nine match, Nic Gill lost to Alex Yuzpe by two points each game, falling 11-9, 11-9 and 13-11.
 
At three and seven, UR's Dhirren Rajarathinam and Arnav Mandhana each needed extra points in one of the three sets. Rajarathinam lost against Zach Nam 12-10, 11-7 and 11-9 at number three, while Mandhana saw similar scores in his #7 loss against Adam Goad, falling 11-7, 12-10 and 11-9.
 
15th-ranked Rochester falls to 1-3 on the season, while 8th-ranked Columbia earns its second win in three matches to start the season. UR's match was its second straight against a top-10 opponent, as the Yellowjackets battled #10 Tufts on Saturday afternoon.
 
Up next, Rochester has a week off before hosting a 3-match weekend against Western University, Penn and St. Lawrence from December 6-8.