PHILADELPHIA – No. 2 Harvard (13-1) got its national title defense off to a positive start, topping No. 7 Virginia (12-6) in the Potter Cup quarterfinals at Penn Squash Center on Friday, 8-1.  
 
The Crimson posted a comfortable 8-1 victory to reach the semifinal round for a 10th consecutive season. Harvard is hoping to claim the Potter Cup for a third straight year, having won the last two renditions of the tournament in 2019 and 2020. 
 
Samuel Scherl (No. 3), Adam Corcoran (No. 5) and Liam Rotzoll (No. 7) took to the courts for the day's first wave of matches and were able to get the Crimson out to an early 3-0 lead. Scherl and Corcoran dispatched their respective opponents, 3-0, while Rotzoll fought back from a loss in the opening game to grab a 3-1 victory. 
 
Harvard continued to find success in the second session, securing wins from Marwan Tarek (No. 2) and Ido Burstein (No. 6), to take a match-clinching 5-0 advantage. 
 
Tate Harms came up just short in a hard-fought affair at No. 8, falling in five games, but Victor Crouin (No. 1), George Crowne (No. 4) and Conner Stoltz (No. 9) were all victorious, bringing the final tally to 8-1. 

Harvard Highlights / Match Notes 

• Harvard earned 3-0 sweeps at positions Nos. 1-5. 
• The Crimson outscored UVA, 26-4, in games. 
• The win secures Harvard's berth in the Potter Cup semifinals for a 10th consecutive season.  
• Adam Corcoran dropped only nine points in his victory, the fewest of the day for the Crimson. 
• Samuel Scherl (13-0) and George Crowne (11-0) continue their unbeaten seasons as individuals. 
• The Crimson is now 23-8 in Potter Cup play under head coach Mike Way. 
• Harvard improves to 3-0 against Virginia all-time. 

RESULTS

Harvard – 8, Virginia – 1 

1. Victor Crouin (Harv) def Aly Hussein (UVA).– 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-6)
2. Marwan Tarek (Harv) def. Omar El Torkey (UVA) – 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-4)
3. Samuel Scherl (Harv) def. Taha Dinana (UVA) – 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-3)
4. George Crowne (Harv) def. Cullen Little (UVA) – 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-6)
5. Adam Corcoran (Harv) def. Tyler Mackesy (UVA) – 3-0 (11-3, 11-1, 11-5)
6. Ido Burstein (Harv) def. Myles McIntyre (Colu) – 3-1 (11-5, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7)
7. Liam Rotzoll (Harv) def. – CJ Baldini (UVA) 3-1 (6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9)
8. William Holey (UVA) def. Tate Harms (Harv) –  3-2 (11-2, 2-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10) 
9. Conner Stoltz (Harv) def. Teddy Durfee (UVA) – 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-6) 

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

Next Up

The Crimson are back on the courts tomorrow (Feb. 19) when the team will meet No. 6 seed Columbia in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Matches can be seen live via CSA's YouTube channel.