Ryan, Men's Squash Compete at CSA Individual Championships

Last weekend marked the end of team play for the Harvard men’s squash squad (10-4, 7-0 Ivy). However, a few players continued onwards to the Collegiate Squash Association Individual Championships this weekend at Princeton’s Jadwin Squash Courts. Sophomore Bryan Koh, junior Matt Roberts, and freshman David Ryan aimed to continue the legacy of Harvard alum, Ali Farag ’14, who won the Pool Trophy last year.

The Crimson  started strong at the competition with players advancing to both the quarterfinals of the Molloy Cup draw and the semifinals for the Pool Trophy. Those competing for the Molloy Cup are players ranked 33rd and below, and those competing for the Pool Trophy are among the top 32 collegiate players in the nation.

The first day of Championships went well for the Crimson. In the Molloy Cup division, No. 53 ranked Roberts won two 3–1 matches against Hobart College’s Terrance Rose and Penn’s James Watson. Even after being injured during this season, Roberts was able to move on to the quarterfinals. Continuing onwards, he went 1-1 on the second day of the Championship where he beat Cornell’s Graham Dietz 3-1 before losing 3-0 to Trinity’s Affeeq Ismail with a spot in the semifinals at stake.

Koh, a Pool Trophy competitor ranked 31st, ended Friday with a win and a loss. He was bested by Cornell’s Aditya Jagtap in three games but then recovered with a 3-0 victory against Yale’s Sam Fenwick. Koh went on to lose, 3 -1, in the quarterfinal of the consolation Pool Trophy tournament on the second day.

In the same division, No. 23 ranked Ryan performed above expectations against opponents ranked much higher than he was. He swept his opponents, Neil Cordell of Rochester and Marwan Mahmoud of Penn, in three games to advance to the quarterfinals. Both competitors were seeded more than ten spots above Ryan.

“The man of the weekend without question is David Ryan,” Harvard coach Michael Way said. “I think the biggest thing was mentally, he really showed a lot of maturity. He was against a set of players that on paper are more experienced. It was an astounding weekend for him.’”

Ryan also performed well in his quarterfinal match against Jagtap, who was ranked fourth in the entire tournament and had also knocked Koh out earlier in the tournament. After falling behind, 8-10, against his opponent in the first game, Ryan was able to fight back to clinch his first win of the match. He went on to sweep Jagtap in three games for a chance to compete in the semifinals.

“It’s the first time I’ve played this tournament,” Ryan said. “I was winning a match against a first-team all-American. [It was a] big moment for me and a huge step up to be playing one of the best players in college squash. I played some of the best squash of my life in that match.”

In what proved to be his final match, Ryan fell to No. 3 Osama Khalifa of Columbia despite keeping things close in all three games with final scores of 11-7, 11-8, and 11-8. Khalifa went on to lose in the finals of the championship, claiming second in the tournament. Over the span of this weekend, Ryan’s individual ranking rose from 23rd to fourth overall in the country.

The Crimson finished the season with a team ranking of third and individual rankings as high as fourth. As the coach of a young team which often featured four freshmen in the top nine, Way views these results as a success.

“[The guys are] starting to prove themselves as squash players,” Way said. “When you’ve got that excitement, no matter what, win or lose, you know you’re going to have an exciting season. The work ethic and attitude is quite remarkable this year. I feel no doubt that it’s going to be that and then some next season.”