Trinity jumped to an early lead against the Crimson, which found itself down, 3-0, at the end of the first wave. But all was not over for the Harvard team, which rallied during later rotations to eventually tie the match, 4-4.

Playing at No. 7, everything was on the line for senior Zeke Scherl. Bantam freshman Zeyad Elshorafy jumped to an advantage, taking the first two sets, 11-5, 11-7.

Scherl fought back in the third, coming to a 10-9 lead, but Elshorafy won the next three points to take the match for himself and his team.

At the top, the Crimson was able to handle its opponents. Playing at No. 2, junior Brandon McLaughlin battled with Juan Vargas in five sets. The two players swapped wins, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11 until McLaughlin finally broke Vargas in the fifth, 11-9.

In the first slot, sophomore Ali Farag defeated senior Reinhold Hergeth in swift 3-0 sets, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5.

“Farag is the Merlin of the squash court,” Way said. “Ali plays at [No.1] and there’s always a little bit of magic happening. You’ve got to love him. He wasn’t severely tested tonight. His opponent was strong, but he’s not really in Ali’s caliber.”

Farag won the individual title last season after defeated then-defending champion Todd Harrity of Princeton.

“He’s got a big test coming up with national team championships and then individuals,“ Way said.

—Staff writer Cordelia F. Mendez can be reached at cordeliamendez@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @CrimsonCordelia