M., W. Squash Clinch Ivy Title Outright with 9-0 Wins Over Yale

After a one-year hiatus, the Harvard men's and women's squash teams are back where they belong--on top.

Both Crimson squads blanked Yale 9-0 last night to end their regular seasons with an unblemished 6-0 league mark and clinch their respective Ivy League titles outright.

For the Crimson women, the league championship is the eighth in ten years and 13th overall. The men, meanwhile, now own 33 all-time titles, including ten of the last 11.

The titles are also the first during the tenure of second-year coach Satinder Bajwa.

"Winning itself is always important, but the Ivy League is special because of the tradition here," Bajwa said.

Harvard Men

While the women's dominant victory over Yale was somewhat expected, the men entered last night's tilt with the Elis with a much taller order.

Like Harvard, Yale had beaten defending Ivy champion Princeton 5-4 earlier this season. The forecast for last night suggested that one game out of nine could possibly decide the league winner.

As it turned out, however, Princeton was not a very good measuring stick. The Elis may have taken five matches against the Tigers, but they couldn't muster a single victory against Harvard.

"It was very impressive that we won 9-0," Bajwa said. "It showed me how much the guys wanted this and that they were really hungry."

Junior Peter Karlin set the tone for the Crimson early in the No. 2 position, frustrating Yale's Peter Grote with a series of stunning shots. Karlin claimed the win in straight sets 15-5, 15-11, 15-7.

Senior Andrew Merill and freshmen Isaac Whitman and James Bullock also pulled out early wins for Harvard.

In the No. 1 match, Harvard co-captain Deepak Abraham prevailed in a very physical contest against Yale's Anshul Manchanda. Though Abraham required just three sets to claim victory 15-13, 15-8, 15-14, Manchanda did not go quietly, as he spent almost as much time running into Abraham and then crying foul as he did going after the ball.

The most inspired performance of the night was unquestionably turned in by Harvard sophomore Dylan Patterson, who rallied back from two games down to overtake Robert Gilpin in one of the night's most grueling matches.

"Dylan has been a bit up-and-down this year," Bajwa said. "For him to come back from two-love is very encouraging. I think he is coming of age."

The Harvard men will now set their sights on the postseason, as the ISA Team Championships are scheduled for this weekend.

Harvard Women

It might have struck some as rather anticlimatic to win a national title one week, only to have to play one final regular season game the next.

Not so for the Harvard women's squash team, who was more than happy to add an Ivy League title to its Howe Cup victory for good measure.

Last night's decision was never in doubt as the Crimson did not drop a single game through its first four matches.

Freshman Ashley Harmeling, sophomore Ella Witcher, and juniors Margaret Elias and Colby Hall all paced the Crimson at the outset with easy victories.

When rookie phenom Louisa Hall--the Crimson's No. 1 player and Colby's younger sister--stepped onto the court, Harvard needed just one more win to clinch the title.

As it turned out, Harvard got that and then some.

Hall made quick work of Yale's Catherine Fiederowicz in three sets to clinch the league title. After falling behind 4-0 in the first game, Hall rallied back to win it 9-5, and then had just one point scored on her in the remainder of the match.

"Louisa's a world class player," Bajwa said. "We are expecting more big things from her again next year."

The night was also marked by the last matches for two Harvard seniors, Katie Gregory and co-captain Virginia Brown, both of whom won with little difficulty.

Gregory's victory enabled her to close out her career on a winning note, after losing for the first time in her career in the Howe Cup last weekend.

Both seniors were recognized before the start of last night's competition.

"Katie's just been a pillar," Bajwa said. "And Virginia is one of our captains and has been an important presence here for the past four years."

While last night's match was the final dual meet of the season, a select group of Harvard players will compete at the WISRA Individual Championship a week from this Friday.