ankle. He was never able to fully recover, and Yik won the match 3-1

(15-17, 15-10, 15-6, 15-7). Freshman No. 4 Dylan Patterson has been plagued by back injuries for much of the season, and missed Saturday's match as a result. Playing through pain yesterday, he took Princeton's Eric Pearson to five sets before falling 3-2 (15-10, 13-15, 12-15, 15-11, 15-7).

"I'm disappointed," Patterson said. "If not for my back, I'm sure I would have taken that one, and it definitely effected the match."

Harvard nearly won despite the injuries. Victories by juniors No. 3 Grayson Witcher, No. 6 Shondip Ghosh, No. 7 Andrew Merrill and No. 9 Rob Pike kept the Crimson in contention.

But in the end, there were too many injuries and too many Yiks. David's older brother, defending NISRA champion Peter, defeated Crimson co-captain No. 1 Tim Wyant in a very well-played match, 3-1.

Wyant had defeated the elder Yik twice earlier in the year, at an Ivy League scrimmage and at the USSRA Five-Man Team Championship in New Haven. This time, however, Yik rebounded from a 15-9 loss in his first game to take the next three, 15-5, 15-8, and 17-14.

"He's a great player," Wyant said. "And Princeton's a great team. You can't take anything away from them. They played a very tough match."