The University of Rochester squash team got back into action for the first time in 2026, but opened the year on a sour note, falling to Franklin and Marshall College by a 7-2 score on Friday evening at the Lyman Squash Center.
 
Rochester drops to 2-5 on the season, while the Diplomats snap a 3-match losing streak and improve to 6-5. The two teams entered the match ranked closely in the most recent College Squash Association (CSA) standings, with F&M sitting at #17 and Rochester at #19.
 
The Yellowjacket wins came from Thomas Valderrama at number six and Karim Moataz at number eight. Both were four-game winners.
 
Valderrama's win came in the opening wave when F&M was able to take a 2-1 lead. The opening point was scored at number seven, with Akshat Agarwal defeating UR's Preston Wu 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 13-11). At the top spot, Sharan Punjabi needed four games to win over Gilberto Aceves Moreno (11-6, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7) before Valderrama's win to close out the first set of matches.

The 'Jacket sophomore topped Jaime Stait 12-10, 8-11, 11-9 and 11-9, winning his third straight match, pushing his 2025-26 record to 5-2.
 
In the second wave, the Diplomats earned all three points to clinch a victory in the overall match. Noah Katzer swept Van Inman-Benavente 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-4) at number five before Teerth Jilka edged out Victor Xu at nine, needing five games for the win (11-9, 2-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4).

The clinching point was earned by F&M's number two player, Kyle Broadhurst in a match against Dhirren Rajarathinam. The first two games were closely contested, both going to Broadhurst 13-11. In the third, Broadhurst was up 3-2 when Rajarathinam needed to retire from the match, putting the Diplomats up 5-1 on the scoreboard.
 
In wave three, Aditya Chandani kept the momentum going for Franklin & Marshall, sweeping through Arjith Mathew at number three (11-8, 11-6, 11-6). The final two matches of the night wrapped up within seconds of one another. At number four, Toby Clegg-Petri rallied from 0-2 down to Kareem Azzam to post a five-game win (4-11, 3-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-4) while Moataz earned his win against Dean Vahlsing in four games (11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9).
 
The Yellowjackets are now off from team matches until a matchup against Hobart on February 7. Next week, select individuals will compete in New York City in the annual College Squash Association Individual Championships.