AMHERST, Mass. - The 23rd-ranked Amherst men's squash team put the brakes on a four-game losing skid with a 6-3 victory over #24 Hamilton in its opening match at the 2011-12 Pioneer Valley Invitational.

Sophomore Dave Kerr (Short Hills, N.J.) got the Jeffs off to a good start with a 3-1 triumph over Cooper Veysey '12 at the top of the order. After securing a hard-fought 12-10 win, the Short Hills, N.J. native dropped a closely contested second game, 11-9, before rebounding with a pair of 11-4 and 11-7 wins to notch Amherst's first point.

Hamilton's Martin Bawden '14 upended Steve Severson '12 (Mercer Island, Wash.), 3-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 13-11), while the Continentals' Alex Wood '12 defeated Scott DeSantis '15 (Sudbury, Mass.), 3-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 13-11).

Amherst's Max Kardon '15 (Weston, Mass.) went up 2-0 on Hamilton's Ted Black '15 before dropping the third game 11-2. Hoping to bounce back, Kardon picked up an 11-7 victory in the fourth to seal the win.

Charles Loesch-Quintin '13 (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded his third-straight win with a 3-0 (11-4, 11-1, 11-6) sweep of Harry Keeshan '13, while Todd Lavine '12 (Atherton, Calif.) took all three from Ronald German '13 to record his fifth victory of 2011-12.

Rodrigo Miranda '14 (San Salvador, El Salvador) kept things rolling for the Jeffs by dealing Peter Harrison '15 a 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-7) loss in the seventh position, while first-year Alex Southmayd (Boston, Mass.) won his fifth-straight match, defeating Tim Gray '12, 3-0 (11-1, 11-6, 11-9), to improve to 6-1 on the year.

Hamilton's Walker Lourie '15 accounted for the visitors' only other point, notching a 3-1 triumph over Jake Albert '15 (Middlebury, Conn.).

Amherst continues play at the Pioneer Invitational with matches against Hobart and Conn. College on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Amherst def. Hamilton, 6-3
1. David Kerr (A) def. Cooper Veysey (H), 3-1 (12-10, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7)
2. Martin Bawden (H) def. Stephen Severson (A), 3-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 13-11)
3. Alex Wood (H) def. Scott DeSantis (A), 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8)
4. Max Kardon (A) def. Ted Black (H), 3-1 (11-6, 11-8, 2-11, 11-7)
5. Charles Loesch-Quintin (A) def. Harry Keeshan (H), 3-0 (11-4, 11-1, 11-6)
6. Todd Lavine (A) def. Ronald German (H), 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-8)
7. Rodrigo Quan Miranda (A) def. Peter Harrison (H), 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-7)
8. Alex Southmayd (A) def. Tim Gray (H), 3-0 (11-1, 11-6, 11-9)
9. Walker Lourie (H) def. Jake Albert (A), 3-1 (13-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5)