PRINCETON, N.J. – Harvard men's squash opened play at the inaugural Ivy League Tournament this morning in Princeton with an 8-1 win over the host Tigers. 

How it Happened

Looking to bounce back from its regular-season finale loss to the Tigers, the Crimson started strong, winning two of three matches in the opening wave.  Alexander Broadbridge gave Harvard its first point of the day courtesy of a come-from-behind five-game win at sixes.  After falling in the first two games, the first-year recovered and won the next three games 11-4, 11-4, and 11-2. 

David Costales then swept Avi Agarwal (Princeton) at twos to give the Crimson a 2-0 lead.  The senior won two close sets 11-9 and 11-8 before battling to a 16-14 final game.

Princeton got on the board with a win on eights, but Harvard responded in a big way by winning all three matches in the second wave.  Christian Capella struck first, defeating Aly Ibrahim (Princeton) in five games at fours. The Ivy League Rookie of the Year won the first two games 11-7 and 11-8 before Ibrahim battled back with a pair of 11-5 wins.  Capella dropped just three points in the final game to give Harvard its third point of the day. 

With his own five-game contest, Denis Gilevskiy defeated Hollis Robertson (Princeton) at ones to put the Crimson within a point of clinching the match.  The two traded game wins and Gilevskiy ultimately got the upper hand with an 11-7 win in the fifth game. 

Ishant Shah then clinched the match for Harvard with three matches outstanding, defeating Yanai Ramot (Princeton) in straight games at nines. 

In the final wave, Maddox Moxham swept Hassan Khalil (Princeton) at fives and the final two matches at threes and sevens were retired with the Crimson up 2-0 in either.

Results

Harvard – 5, Princeton – 4

1. Denis Gilevskiy def. Hollis Robertson (Princeton), 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7)
2. David Costales def. Avi Agarwal (Princeton), 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 16-14)
3. Omar Azzam def. Federico Sosa (Princeton), 2-0 (11-8, 11-2, ret.)
4. Christian Capella def. Aly Ibrahim (Princeton), 3-2 (11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 5-11, 11-3)
5. Maddox Moxham def. Hassan Khalil (Princeton), 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-4)
6. Alexander Broadbridge def. Andrew Glaser (Princeton), 3-2 (6-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-2)
7. Jacob Lin def. Yuvraj Wadhwani (Princeton), 2-0 (14-12, 11-3, ret.)
8. Justin Cheng (Princeton) def. Segev Rome, 3-2 (9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 14-12)
9. Ishant Shah def. Yanai Ramot (Princeton), 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-4)

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

Next Up

Harvard will face the top-seeded Penn Quakers tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. ET in the first-ever Ivy League Squash Tournament Championship.