Tough Tests Keep on Coming

The Harvard men’s squash team (5-2, Ivy 2-1) had an exhausting and trying weekend of back-to-back Ivy League matches. In its first game, the Crimson fought hard and beat No. 9 Penn (4-4, 1-3 Ivy), 6-3, but it could not pull off a victory against No. 3 Princeton (9-1, Ivy 4-0) who won, 9-0.

“With Penn we knew that we had the edge and the experience in our team,” Harvard coach Satinder Bajwa said. “But in terms of Princeton we knew it was going to be more difficult.”

The Crimson came into this weekend looking for redemption after a 9-0 loss to No. 1 Trinity last Wednesday but saw tough competition in the way of important victories.

On Saturday, Penn proved to be a challenge for Harvard, but the Crimson won key victories. In one of the most exciting matches of the day, junior captain Verdi DiSesa was beating Quaker sophomore Mark Froot, 2-0, when Froot came back to even the match at 2-2. In a hard-fought fifth and final game, Froot had a 6-0 lead on DiSesa, but the focused and unwavering captain came back with nine unanswered points to win the game and the match.

Harvard freshmen J. Reed Endresen and Richard Hill contributed to the Crimson victory by swiftly beating their opponents in four games.

One challenge that Harvard had to face against Penn was not to underestimate th Quakers. Penn has had a season of ups and downs. But the Crimson could not allow itself to think that the Quaker .500 record meant an easy victory for Harvard.

“We had to make sure that nobody let up or got complacent against Penn,” said DiSesa. “But most of us showed up and put it out there”

But in the second match of the weekend Harvard could not pull off a victory against No. 2 Princeton. The Crimson could not overcome the sheer depth of the Tiger’s talent.

“The biggest challenge with Princeton is that they have nine amazing players,” said DiSesa.

Princeton lost only to No. 1 Trinity 6-3 whereas Harvard fell to Trinity 0-9. With yesterday’s loss Princeton gave the Crimson its first Ivy League loss.

Another challenge that Harvard had to face was the fatigue factor of playing back-to-back matches.

“The biggest challenge with Princeton was going to be recovering physically from the Penn match,” DiSesa said.

This weekend’s games also signified the return of two injured Crimson players. Freshman Eliot Buchanan and sophomore Frank Cohen had been benched with ankle injuries. But this weekend both returned and made a big difference for Harvard. Buchanan played the number four spot for Harvard and swiftly beat Quaker freshman Porter Drake in four games. Cohen, in the number seven spot, fought hard to beat Penn junior Andrew Zimmerman in five games.

In both matches there was a feeling of team camaraderie between the players. “I think we came together as a team,” Bajwa said. “The fact is we really do feel that if we continue that, things will fall into place.”

This weekend’s play continued the history between the Crimson and these two teams. Harvard has defeated Penn in its last five meetings and lost to Princeton in its last three competitions.

The Crimson will have a few days to recuperate from this weekend’s matches, and on Wednesday they will face another Ivy League rival, the Yale Bulldogs.

“When it comes to Yale, with a couple days rest we should be able to beat them,” Bajwa said. “They are a very well-matched opponent for us.”

Next weekend, the CSA national team championships will be held at the Murr Center and Harvard will have another opportunity to face off against Princeton and Trinity.

—Staff writer Alison E. Schumer can be reached at schumer@fas.harvard.edu.