CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's squash began the 2019-20 season in dominant fashion, running through the 17th-ranked MIT Engineers, 8-1. Junior Samuel Scherl and senior captain Saadeldin Abouaish powered the Crimson to victory with 3-0 wins.

The first win of the night went to sophomore George Crowne, who swept his opponent 3-0 in the fourth pairing. Wins from first-year Ayush Menon and juniors Adam Corcoran and John Finley Ong gave Harvard a 4-0 lead.

Abouaish clinched the match win in the third pairing with a 3-0 victory.

Wins from Scherl, Julien Gosset and Liam Rotzoll followed to give the Crimson eight wins on opening night.

Harvard Highlights

• John Finley Ong edged his opponent in an exciting match in the eighth pairing. Ong took home the 3-2 victory after battling back from a 7-1 deficit in the fourth game to win 11-9.
• First-year Ayush Menon crushed his competitior in his collegiate debut, 3-0.
• Fellow first-year Liam Rotzoll also won his first match, 3-0.
• Gosset won a battle in the fifth pairing, edging his opponent, 12-10, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, to pick up his first win of the season.

Game Notes

• The Crimson extends its win streak to 17 matches.
• Harvard is now 56-2 all-time against the Engineers.

Next Up
The Crimson will have two weeks to prepare for its first Ivy League contest at the 10th-ranked Dartmouth Big Green on Dec. 3.

RESULTS

Harvard – 8

MIT – 1

1. Samuel Scherl def. Joe O'Connor (MIT) - 11-3, 11-1, 11-2
2. Adam Corcoran def. Aman Sanger (MIT) - 11-6, 11-4, 11-2
3. Saadeldin Abouaish def. Henry Martin (MIT) - 11-2, 11-3, 11-5
4. George Crowne def. Eli Kramer (MIT) - 11-3, 14-12, 11-2
5. Julien Gosset def. Vedaant Kukadia (MIT) - 12-10, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7
6. Ayush Menon def. William Wu (MIT) - 11-6, 11-4, 11-8
7. Liam Rotzoll def. Keith Lamp (MIT) - 11-9, 11-7, 11-5
8. John Finley Ong def. Matt McManus (MIT)  - 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-2
9. Brad Levin (MIT) def. Liam Waterous - 11-4, 9-11, 5-11, 1-11

Order of finish: 4,6,2,8,3,1,9,7,5