SPORTS BRIEF: Men’s squash sweeps Brown 9-0 in season opener despite losses of Suchde, Oren to injuries

With two of its top players out with injuries, the Harvard men’s squash team (1-0, 1-0 Ivy) still lost only three games during a 9-0 sweep of Brown (0-1, 0-1) Friday evening in Providence, R.I.

A number of players had to move up spots to fill in for juniors Sidd Suchde and Ilan Oren, but the Crimson still cruised in its first match since last year’s national championship loss to Trinity.

Although junior No. 2 Jason De Lierre, sophomore No. 4 Clark Gertler, and freshman No. 6 Niko Hrdy all lost games during their matches, it didn’t matter—Harvard dominated in nearly every facet of the match.

“It was a pretty easy match, and we just have to put pressure on ourselves because the competition isn’t that strong,” junior Mihir Sheth said. “You still want to get a good game out of it.”

It was captain No. 1 Will Broadbent who set the pace for Harvard. The top-ranked senior, who is aiming to earn All-Ivy League and First Team All-America honors for the fourth straight season, won 9-4, 9-6, 9-2 against Brown No. 1 Breck Bailey.

De Lierre’s opening-game loss didn’t faze him in the subsequent ones, as he only gave up a single point in the next three, winning 5-9, 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.

Freshman No. 3 Verdi DiSesa improved in every game during his 9-5, 9-1, 9-0 win, while Gertler had the most difficult match of the weekend.

After a relatively easy 9-2 win over No. 4 Patrick Haynes, the 7-9 loss was followed by two 10-8 game wins to seal the match.

The Crimson does not play again until traveling to Dartmouth on Nov. 30, but the long break in between matches should not be a problem.

“We’ve done our training,” Sheth said. “Now we just have to stay focused.”