After not losing a game in over a year, the Harvard men’s squash team (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) fell twice this weekend on the road in New York, falling to No. 2 St. Lawrence Saturday and No. 5 University of Rochester on Sunday. The No. 1 Crimson women (2-0, 1-0 Ivy), meanwhile, cruised at home against Boston College.
Rochester 5, Harvard 4
The Yellowjackets (5-1, 3-1 Liberty League) handed Harvard its second loss of the weekend in a tightly contested match in Rochester, N.Y.
Rochester freshman Tomotaka Endo defeated sophomore Bryan Koh in four games at the fourth seed in the decisive final match. After losing his first two games, Koh fought his way back by winning the third, 11-8. Endo, however, clinched the victory after a hard-fought fourth game that went to 13 points.
The Crimson struggled early with four losses in the first five games. The top three spots on Harvard’s ladder—freshman Madhav Dhingra, freshman Bradley Smith, and sophomore Dylan Murray—all fell to their opponents, with only Smith forcing an extra game.
Harvard’s depth evened out the score with wins from players at the bottom half of the ladder.
Captain Tyler Olson obtained his third win in three games this season at the seventh spot, defeating sophomore Aria Fazelimanesh.
Sophomore Devin McLaughlin won in five games to pick up his first win of the season.
The Crimson drew even with wins from fifth-seeded junior Matt Roberts and ninth-seeded junior Sam Goldberg before Endo and Koh finished their match at the fourth seed.
St. Lawrence 7, Harvard 2
No. 2 toppled No. 1 in Canton, N.Y. on Saturday.
Four St. Lawrence (6-0, 4-0) players won their matches in straight games to hand the visitors their first defeat in over a year. At the first seed, Saints’ senior Amr Khalifa proved his 2014 CSA individual national champion title with an 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 win over Dhingra.
Harvard’s two wins of the day came from Olson at the seventh seed and Smith at the second seed. Smith bested freshman Edgar Zayas in four games after losing the first, and Olson swept senior Sebastian Riedelsheimer in three.
Koh and McLaughlin’s losses came after five close games. Both sophomores lost their fifth games by a score of 11-9, falling to senior Ibrahim Khan and freshman Hussein Elrayes, respectively.
Harvard 9, Boston College 0
The No. 1 Harvard women’s squash team (2-0 1-0 Ivy) secured its second sweep in as many matches, defeating the Eagles this weekend at the Murr Athletic Center.
The Crimson players defeated all nine of their opponents in three games. Sophomores Caroline Monrad and Keegan Mendez earned their first wins for the Crimson this season at the eighth and ninth spots.
Freshmen Alyssa Mehta (No. 2) and Sue Ann Yong (No. 4) posted dominant performances. Yong shut out Katherine Nueberger in the second game, and Mehta conceded only one point to Alison Johnston in the third game. Rookie Saumya Karki picked up another win as well.
—Staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at michael.ledecky@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Emily T. Wang can be reached at emilywang@college.harvard.ed.
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