"I think he just cracked after the first game," Ezra said. "It felt particularly good considering I'd gotten creamed in the regular season. He had a lot of support and it felt really great to silence the crowd."

Ezra's win brought his team within one match of the national title, but it would be a tough win. Trinity won at No. 5--beating Harvard senior Jeff Blumberg, who was slightly injured with shin splints--and No. 7--over junior David Beitchman--in a tough five-game match to tie the score at four and bring the championship down to the ninth match.

But sophomore No. 3 Tim Wyant was ready. He bested his opponent in three straight to take home the Potter Trophy for the Crimson.

"It was very exciting," Wyant said. "I was nervous, but all my teammates were cheering and I had strong support.

"It was understandable that people felt we were No. 2 going in, but we tried to approach the match with confidence enough that we wouldn't be intimidated."

So it is another year, another national title for the Harvard men's squash team. Or is it?

This was perhaps the first time Harvard truly had to show its heart against an arguably stronger team, and it passed the test.

"It was a very strange feeling," Ezra said. "Trinity is our nemesis, so it was like killing a demon. It's like a huge weight has been taken off our shoulders."

This year may also be just a little bit more special because Harvard graduates three of its top nine in June, including its Nos. 1 and 2, Ezra and Rishaad Bilimoria. A young team, and one that has actually seen defeat, takes its place.

But as the team begins down the long road to a ninth straight title, it has the winningest program in collegiate squash egging it along.

"It's definitely nice to have the tradition as motivation," Merrill said. "It kind of shows how hard everyone before me has worked, so I'd be letting them down if I didn't work just as hard."