PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The No. 4 Harvard men's squash program's chase for the Potter Cup ended this morning with a loss to No. 5 Yale in the quarterfinal round of the College Squash Association (CSA) Team National Championships this morning. The Crimson fell to its rival Bulldogs by a score of 7-2, ending its chances at securing a fifth-consecutive National Championship.
Neel Joshi and
Tate Harms logged the two wins for Harvard, who will now compete in the consolation bracket beginning tomorrow morning (Mar. 2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Crimson lined up this morning on the glass at the Arden Specter US Squash Center looking to make a run in the CSA National Championship weekend in Philadelphia. The Crimson kicked off the tournament with a main draw matchup against the fifth-seeded Yale Bulldogs. The match began with matches at the two, five and eight pairings.
Omar Azzam, the Crimson's no. 2 on the ladder battled in his match on the glass, putting together two competitive games to open the match. Azzam could not close the door on his Yale opponent in either, falling 11-9 before losing in a tiebreak in the second game, 12-10. Azzam put up a fight in the final game but fell 11-5 as Yale got on the board first.
Neel Joshi quickly tied the match with a win in the eighth pairing, defeating his opponent 3-1. Joshi held off a late rally attempt by his Yale adversary to close out the match with a 11-8 win in the final game.
The Bulldogs retook the lead with a win in the fifth match, where
Denis Gilevskiy's comeback attempt fell short in an eventual 3-1 loss.
Yale swept the second wave of matches in the third, ninth and sixth matches to clinch the match.
Ido Burstein fell in a 3-0 loss on the glass courts while
Ishant Shah could not overcome a late push by his opponent, falling 3-1.
Liam Rotzoll nearly kept Harvard's hopes alive, climbing out of a 1-2 deficit to force a fifth game. Rotzoll played a competitive final game, but could not get it done, eventually falling in an 11-8 battle after nearly an hour and a half match.
David Costaled performed well at the top of the ladder despite suffering a narrow 3-2 loss to his Yale opponent. At the seven spot,
Jacob Lin fell 3-1 to give Yale its seventh and final point of the match.
Tate Harms closed out the match with a convincing win at the fourth pairing, taking three straight games to walk out with a 3-0 win.
RESULTS
No. 4 Harvard - 2
No. 5 Yale - 7
- Siow Yee Xian (YALE) def. David Costales, 3-2 (5-11, 11-7, 11-4, 4-11, 11-3)
- Arav Bhagwati (YALE) def. Omar Azzam, 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-5)
- Maxwell Orr (YALE) def. Ido Burstein, 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-3)
- Tate Harms def. Max Forster (YALE), 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-7)
- Tad Carney (YALE) def. Denis Gilevskiy, 3-1 (12-10, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7)
- Lachlan Sutton (YALE) def. Liam Rotzoll, 3-2 (13-11, 2-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8)
- Nikhil Ismail (YALE) def. Jacob Lin, 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 4-11, 11-5)
- Neel Joshi def. Merritt Wurts (YALE), 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8)
- Brian Leonard (YALE) def. Ishant Shah, 3-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-2, 11-4)
Order of Finish: 2, 8, 5, 3, 9, 6, 1, 7, 4
UP NEXT
Harvard will take on No. 8 Drexel in the second consolation bracket tomorrow morning. The match is set to begin at 11:00 AM and will be streamed live on SquashTV.
