PHILADELPHIA – Harvard men's squash competed against a talented Penn Squash team this afternoon, a group who was ranked No. 2 in the nation entering the match, falling to the Quakers in a 2-7 loss. The Crimson (6-3, 3-2 Ivy) fought hard against the Quakers on their home courts, but were unable to pull off the upset, falling to 3-2 in Ivy League competition.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Harvard came into the match looking to bounce back from a tough defeat at the hands of the Princeton Tigers yesterday afternoon.
- Tate Harms' match at the four spot on the ladder was the first to finish up, ending in a 1-3 loss of the Crimson. Harms fought back after falling into an 0-2 hole with a tiebreak win in the third game, but could not string another game together, falling 1-3 in his first losing result of the 2023-24 season.
- Neel Joshi was upended in his match at the no. 8 spot, falling 1-3 in a highly competitive bout. Joshi attempted to climb back into the match with a win in the third game to make it 2-1, but could not rally to secure the tying game, falling 1-3.
- David Costales found himself locked in another battle at the top of the ladder, playing to his fourth straight five-game match. Costales evened the score twice in his match before falling 11-2 in the final game.
- The Quakers built a 4-0 lead after Liam Rotzoll was defeated 3-0 in his match at the sixth pairing.
- Penn clinched the victory by capturing the point in the third matchup. Ido Burstein fell 0-3 in the match clinching win for the Quakers.
- Harvard got its first win of the afternoon at the seven spot with Jacob Lin earning a 3-1 victory. After winning the first match 11-8, Penn would level the score. Lin then rallied to win back-to-back games by a combined score of 22-9 en route to the victory.
- Denis Gilevskiy tallied another point for the Crimson with his win at the no. 5 position. Gilevskiy posted back-to-back game wins after Penn tied the match at 1-1 after the second. Denis won two completive games, 11-9 and 11-8 to seal the win.
- Omar Azzam and Conner Stoltz were the final two matches to finish up in the contest. Both student-athletes fell 1-3 at the two and nine spots, respectively.
- The Quakers snapped a two-match losing skid to Harvard with is 7-2 victory.
RESULTS
No. 2 Penn - 7
No. 4 Harvard – 2
1 - Salman Khalil (PENN) def.
David Costales, 3-2 (11-4, 4-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-2)
2 - Omar Hafez (PENN) def.
Omar Azzam, 3-1 (3-11, 11-5, 11-1, 11-3)
3 - Nicholas Spizzirri (PENN) def.
Ido Burstein, 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-1)
4 - Nathan Tze Bing Kueh (PENN) def.
Tate Harms, 3-1 (11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3)
5 -
Denis Gilevskiy def. Abdelrahman Dweek (PENN), 3-1 (11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8)
6 - Varun Chitturi (PENN) def.
Liam Rotzoll, 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-9)
7 –
Jacob Lin def. Roger Alber Baddour (PENN), 3-1 (11-8, 9-11, 11-1, 11-8)
8 - Dana Santry (PENN) def.
Neel Joshi, 3-1 (12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8)
9 - Rehan Luthra (PENN) def.
Conner Stoltz, 3-1 (11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3)
Order of Finish: 4, 8, 1, 6, 3, 7, 5, 2, 9
