No. 5 Harvard Set to Host No. 6 Cornell

Pictured: Freshman Zeke Scherl is 2-1 at the No. 3 spot for the Crimson.
Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot.

The Particulars:
The No. 5 Harvard men’s squash team enters today’s match with an unblemished record of 3-0 overall and a 2-0 mark in the Ivy League. Cornell comes into today’s action ranked No. 6 with a 2-1 overall record.

Last Time Out:
The Crimson improved their record to 3-0 with a 6-3 win over No. 8 Dartmouth. The victory also keeps Harvard undefeated in Ivy League play as it moved to 2-0. The Crimson received wins from senior co-captain Colin West, Richard Hill, J. Reed Endersen, Jason Michas, William Ahmed and Alexander Ma to propel the team to victory.

About Harvard:
No. 5 Harvard looks to remain unbeaten after handling Dartmouth for its third victory in as many matches. The Crimson are led by senior co-captains Colin West and Frank Cohen. West, who plays at the top position, is ranked No. 2 in the individual poll and owns a 3-0 record. Endersen, Hill and Michas also boast three wins and no losses.

About Cornell:
The Big Red suffered their first loss of the season, Nov. 22, falling to No. 2 Princeton, 6-3.  Cornell began the season with two consecutive wins, downing Western Ontario and Penn before losing to Princeton. The Big Red has three players ranked in the individual top 20. Chris Sachvie stands at No. 14 while Alex Domenick and Will Hartigan are ranked No. 19 and 20, respectively.

Last Year’s Meetings:
Harvard and Cornell met twice last season. The Big Red earned a 6-3 win in Ithaca, N.Y. during the regular season. The Crimson avenged the loss, edging Cornell, 5-4, at the CSA Team Championships.

Riding High:
After the first two weeks of the 2009-10 season, the Crimson finds itself sitting atop the Ivy League standings with a 2-0 mark in the conference. Harvard stands one win ahead of Princeton in the standings.

Continuing the Tradition:
The Crimson has opened the season with at least three-straight wins every year for the last 31 years. The last time a Harvard team didn’t win the first three matches was the 1977-78 season, when it fell to Western Ontario, 5-4, to begin the season.

Up Next:
Harvard hosts Rochester, Jan. 23, 2010, after a 48-day hiatus from competition.