ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - When the Bard College squash team snapped a long losing streak and beat Vassar in January, it stirred up the possibility of a real rivalry developing between the Hudson Valley neighbors.

Bard and Vassar ended up playing four times in the 2014-15 season, and Vassar won three of them, including a 5-4 thriller at the College Squash Association Championships.

The 2015-16 season kicked off with a bang on Saturday, as the Raptors dispatched Vassar, 6-3.

It was over quickly. Bard won the first five matches played in sweeps. So when Ayateru Maeda (playing at #2) and Pranjal Ghate (#7) walked off the court at almost the same time, Bard had clinched the match with a 5-0 lead. Jack Smith (#3), Abe Etkin (#6) and Vikramaditya Joshi (#8) preceded those two with sweeps of their own.

Vassar senior co-captain Timothy Veit (Fairfield, CT) got by Asad Hashmi in four games at No. 4 to give Vassar its first point, and the Brewers got another from Andrew Patton (Barrington, RI) at No. 9.

Bard freshman Rhys Nordstrom, playing at No. 1 in his first college match, battled and lost to Vassar junior Vincent Mencotti (Birmingham, MI) in four games in front of a large crowd.

The Raptors are 1-0 for the first time since 2008. They will next play NYU at Vassar on Nov. 7 at 1:30 p.m.

Before Saturday's match, Court 1 at the Stevenson Athletic Center was dedicated to current Bard professor Daniel Berthold. The event was attended by Bard President Leon Botstein. A plaque was hung on the door of Court 1 in honor of Berthold, a 31-year employee at Bard and a squash enthusiast.

Bard 6, Vassar 3

1. Vincent Mencotti (V) def. Rhys Nordstrom 11-13, 11-6, 12-20, 11-8
2. Ayateru Maeda (B) def. Juan Fernandez 11-3, 11-7, 15-13
3. Jack Smith (B) def. Ben Kurchin 11-5, 11-5, 11-8
4. Timothy Veit (V) def. Asad Hashmi 12-10, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8
5. Julian Dime (B) def. Tim Boycott 11-8, 11-9, 11-4
6. Abe Etkin (B) def. Michael Iselin 11-5, 11-3, 11-3
7. Pranjal Ghate (B) def. Lucas Fifer 11-7, 11-5, 11-3
8. Vikramaditya Joshi (B) def. Richard Bryenton 11-5, 11-5, 11-7
9. Andrew Patton (V) def. Rishabh Badoni 11-2, 11-5, 15-13
10. Matthew Fastman (V) def. Olivia Terzian 11-3, 7-11, 11-7, 11-3