Although the No. 2 seed Abraham fell short of his quest for a national title, he displayed a professional work ethic throughout the weekend.

Less than 24 hours before his epic battle with Ragontse, Abraham was taken to the limit by teammate Dylan Patterson.

Only after 1 hour and 40 minutes of grueling play did Abraham squash Patterson's upset bid, but indicative of the sportsmanship that prevailed throughout the tournament, Patterson was gracious in defeat.

"It was a real tough match, lasting almost two hours," Patterson said. "Although I was upset that I didn't pull it out in the end, if there is anyone I would have liked to lose to, it would have been Deepak, who is a great captain and plays with a lot of class."

Class was certainly a prevalent theme throughout the weekend, as players served as referees and judges for each other's matches.

In addition to the success of Abraham and Patterson, junior David Barry put together his finest string of squash this season. Placed in the lower tier, Barry was not eligible for a national championship but nevertheless played his heart out en route to a birth, and near victory, in the final round of the Malloy bracket.

Down 2-0 in games to Kansas State's A. Fong, Barry used his fitness level and some wise coaching tactics from teammate and main draw quarterfinalist Pete Karlen to comeback for a sensational 3-2 victory.

Facing four consecutive match points, Barry erased a 14-11 deficit to beat Fong 15-14 in the pivotal third game before winning the fourth game by a more comfortable margin.