Crimson Matches Ranking, Takes Fifth at Nationals

Harvard ended its team season on a high note, finishing fifth in the College Squash Association Team Championships this past weekend, as co-captain Colin West won his last three matches for the Crimson squad.

Harvard lost in the quarterfinal round in New Haven, Conn. to Princeton (11-4) on Friday, but rebounded to defeat Western Ontario on Saturday and Cornell (10-6) yesterday. The Crimson finished the team season 7-5 overall, with West leading the squad with an 11-1 record.

“We were seeded fifth and finished fifth, so we played as we were expected to play,” co-captain Frank Cohen said. “We played really well against Cornell, and we were happy with the way the tournament ended.”

“I think how the team played this weekend summed up the season,” Harvard coach Satinder Bajwa said. “We lost to the four teams that were better than us, and they couldn’t beat those teams—any team that was even or slightly better on paper. The boys came out and maximized their potential. It speaks highly of their courage and character.”

HARVARD 7, CORNELL 2

Harvard defeated a tough opponent to win its third match of the weekend. The Crimson bested its Ivy competitor, 7-2, with co-captains West and Cohen leading the team to victory.

West, playing in the No. 1 slot, easily defeated his opponent in straight sets, but Cohen had to dig deeper and pull out the win in a decisive fifth game. Juniors Richard Hill and J. Reed Endresen both pulled off gritty five-set wins as well.

“We had a tight match back in December with Cornell,” Bajwa said. “We knew we were going to have some tough matches this time, but the guys went out and fought.”

HARVARD 7, WESTERN ONTARIO 2

A day after losing to Princeton, Harvard rebounded in the consolation match to defeat No. 8 Western Ontario on Saturday.

The team, following on the heels of West, had four straight-set wins. West did not have any trouble against his opponent, as he defeated Brian Wong, 11-1, 11-5, 11-6.

The pattern continued with freshman Jason Michas edging Yeshale Chetty by a score of 14-12 in the third set and sophomore William Ahmed taking care of Tashlin Reddy, 12-10, 12-10, 11-5, in the No. 5 and 8 positions, respectively.

“They regrouped and focused, and they had to believe they could get the win, and that’s what they did,” Bajwa said.

Freshman Alexander Ma finished off the day defeating Rafik Bhaloo, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7. Harvard also clinched close five-set wins from Endresen and Cohen.

PRINCETON 8, HARVARD 1

West won his first matchup of the tournament against Princeton’s No. 1 on Friday, but the Crimson could not capitalize on that momentum, as it lost the next eight matches to the Tigers.

West narrowly defeated his opponent, Todd Harrity, taking the match to a fifth game. West won the first two games, 11-9 and 11-4, but Harrity tied up the match, taking the next two by the same score. West managed to pull out the victory for his team in the decider, beating his opponent, 11-4.

In four of its matches, Harvard managed to take the lead by winning the first set, but it eventually fell in four games. Crimson freshman Zeke Scherl took the first game, 11-9, but dropped the next three to lose the match. Junior Eliot Buchanan, Ahmed, and Ma were also bested in a similar fashion.

“We thought on the day we had a chance to beat them,” West said. “We felt a little flat and a bit lackluster. We wanted a shining performance, and we had the opportunity to do something big, but we fell short.”