CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 4 ranked Harvard men's squash team will head down to Philadelphia this weekend looking to capture the programs fifth straight Potter Cup at the College Squash Association (CSA) Team National Championships. The Crimson (10-3, 5-2 Ivy) will begin its chase for the program's 30^th overall Potter Cup this weekend when it takes on Yale in the quarterfinal round on Friday (Mar. 1) at 11:00 AM at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
 

THE BRACKET

Harvard, slotted as the four-seed in the tournament, earned a first-round bye in the 12-team National Championship bracket after its regular season performance. The Yale Bulldogs – the bracket's fifth-seed – defeated No. 12 Tufts on Thursday in the opening round to advance into the quarterfinals where they will meet the Crimson.
 
The winner of the Ivy League showdown will move on to the semifinals where it will face the winner of top-seeded Trinity or eighth-seeded Drexel.
 
A Potter Cup Champion will be decided on Sunday, March 3, at 10:30 at the Specter Center.
 

WHAT TO KNOW

• Harvard comes into the match as the tournament's four-seed after posting an 8-3 record and a 5-2 Ivy League record in 2023-24.
• Harvard is riding a four-match win streak coming into the weekend.
• The well-rested Crimson will play its first match in two weeks on Friday when it looks to defeat Yale for a second time in 2024.
• The Crimson came away with a 7-2 win over No. 3 Yale back on Jan. 19 at the Murr Squash Center.
• Junior captain, Tate Harms, has posted a team-best 12 wins this season, mainly playing at the No. 4 spot on the ladder. Harms went 7-1 from the four-spot this season and holds a 12-1 overall record in 2023-24.
• Denis Gilevskiy, the team's no. 5 on the ladder, has posted 11 wins on the season, the second-most on the team.
• David Costales and Omar Azzam is the Crimson's one-two punch at the top of the ladder, posting 7-4 and 9-4 records in 2023-24.
• Ido Burstein has posted three wins while playing no. 3 on the ladder for Harvard this season.
• Liam Rotzoll has won four matches at the six spot for the Crimson and Jacob Lin – the team's No. 7 – has posted five wins at his primary position.
• Neel Joshi and Iashant Shah round out the Harvard lineup, posting four and five wins, respectively at the eight and nine positions.
• The Crimsons currently owns a 12-match winning streak at the CSA National Championships, outscoring opponents 89-19 in the run.
• Harvard won the Potter Cup in Philadelphia during the 2021-22 season.
• The Crimson and the Bulldogs have met twice in recent CSA National Championships Tournaments. The last matchup came just a year ago in 2023, when Harvard knocked off the No. 4 Bulldogs in the semifinal round, 6-3. In the 2017 tournament, Harvard defeated Yale 8-1 in the quarterfinal round.

 

UP NEXT

The Crimson and Yale will compete for a spot in the semifinal round on Saturday. The winner of the Saturday semifinal will move on to compete for the Potter Cup on Sunday morning. All matches from the CSA National Championships can be streamed live on Squash TV.