Broadbent took the first point of the third game, but El-Halaby regained the lead before Broadbent was forced to retire.
“The thing with Yasser, he’s so dangerous all the time all over the court,” Broadbent said. “He doesn’t play like any other player.”
“I can’t play flick shots and quick drives with him,” Broadbent said. “He eats that up. He loves that.”
Intercollegiate No. 19 James Bullock and No. 37 Ziggy Whitman—the team’s co-captains—each won their final home match in straight games at No. 4 and No. 9, respectively.
“That was actually the best I’ve played all year,” Whitman said. “I was just seeing the ball earlier and taking it earlier and keeping pressure on, making openings and then shutting the door.”
In two matchups of freshmen, Crimson intercollegiate No. 7 Siddharth Suchde won in straight games, beating No. 20 Vincent Yu 9-2, 9-0, 9-4 at No. 2, while Harvard’s Ilan Oren, the intercollegiate No. 18, needed four games to beat No. 26 Michael Gilman 9-6, 1-9, 9-4, 9-5 at No. 3.
Harvard 9, Penn 0
Playing at home for the first time since Dec. 6, Harvard turned in its most lopsided victory of the season Saturday afternoon, beating Penn (8-7, 1-5) 9-0 without dropping a single game.
The shutout was the Crimson’s second in a row following its disappointing 7-2 setback to No.1 Trinity on Jan. 31.
Bullock easily beat intercollegiate No. 43 Jacob Himmelrich 9-3, 9-3, 9-0 at No. 4 as the players repeatedly collided throughout the match, resulting in many lets.
As the match wore on, both players became visibly frustrated, leading Himmelrich to bark at his own teammate, Benjamin Ende, who was refereeing the match.
“It’s a fiery game,” Bullock said. “If you’re going to be more aggressive, you’re going to be in front of the guy a lot more and there are going to be calls.”
At No. 1, Broadbent defeated No. 11 Gilly Lane with little difficulty, 9-3, 9-1, 9-0, using the easier match to hone some of the weaker parts of his game.
“I’m trying to work on some things from the center of the court,” Broadbent said. “Sometimes, I can get a little lazy with my feet and compensate too much on my hands, so I have to get over and get into position.”
Playing at No. 2, Suchde returned to action after being sidelined by back spasms and collected his first victory since Nov. 22, defeating intercollegiate No. 16 Richard Repetto.
Harvard took advantage of the relatively easy match to prepare for tougher competition.
“When you play in a tough match and you’re nervous, you play what you feel most comfortable playing,” Whitman said. “In a match like this, when you’re not nervous…it allows you to work on things.”
—Staff writer Alan G. Ginsberg can be reached at aginsber@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.