Senior captain Olson wins again, as Crimson fall to Rochester. (Zack Williamson)

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In a true nail-bitter, No. 1 Harvard men's squash was defeated, 5-4, this afternoon by No. 5 Rochester. After falling behind 4-1 early on, the Crimson battled back to draw even but fell in the final matchup of the day.

Captain Tyler Olson continues to be the foundation for Harvard, picking up his third win in three matches. At the No. 7 position, Olson was strong, winning in three-straight sets to tie the score at 4-4.

With the score even, the match came down to the No. 4 position and sophomore Bryan Koh. After falling behind 2-0, Koh hit back, taking the third set 11-8. In the fourth set Koh continued to battle but eventually fell, 13-11.

Juniors Matt Roberts and Sam Goldberg notched their second victories of the season, while sophomore Devin McLaughlin brought home his first. 

At the No. 5 position, Roberts took the match, 4-1, needing 13 points in the fourth set to secure the win. McLaughlin played at the No. 6 position and needed five sets to give Harvard its second win of the day. The Crimson's first victory of the day came at the No. 9 position, when Goldberg took his match 3-1.

Harvard will be back in action in 2015 with a three-match road trip. On January 10, the Crimson face off against Princeton, then head south on the 11th to take on Penn and close the trip on the 12th against Franklin & Marshall.

Complete Results

Rochester 5, Harvard 4

1. Tapia def. Dhingra – (11-3, 11-3, 11-2)

2. Kobayashi def. Smith (8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6)

3. Cordell def. Murray (11-5, 11-1, 11-3)

4. Endo def. Koh (11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 13-11)

5. Roberts def. Bertocchi  (6-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8)

6. McLaughlin def. Mohr (6-11, 11-3, 11-7, 2-11, 11-8)

7. Olson def. Fazelimanesh (11-4, 11-6, 11-8)

8. Xiaomen def. Patrick (15-13, 11-8, 11-8)

9. Goldberg def. Pitfield (11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9)