SPORTS BRIEF: Men’s squash players struggle in Individual Championships

Junior Colin West fell just short of a berth in the national championship match this weekend at the CSA National Individual Championships in Williamstown, MA. The star of the Harvard men’s squash team, who was the third seed in the Potter Cup, fell in five games to No. 2 seed Mauricio Sanchez of Princeton.

After taking the first two games of the semifinal match, West faltered, and Sanchez walked away with the 3-9, 6-9, 9-1, 9-2, 9-4 victory.

West advanced to semifinals with a pair of wins on Saturday over Trevor McGuinness and Hesham El Halaby.

The Crimson’s other two competitors in the Potter Cup bracket were captain Verdi DiSesa and senior Niko Hrdy, but both lost in the opening round of competition. DiSesa bowed to Rochester’s Jim Bristow, 9-1, 9-1, 9-4, and Hrdy lost to Princeton’s Dave Letorneau.

Both failed to advance in the consolation bracket.

In the Malloy Cup, sophomore J. Reed Endresen, the third seed, offered Harvard’s best result. After receiving a bye and an easy win on Friday, Endresen’s run was halted with a 9-0, 9-4, 9-1 loss at the hands of Rochester’s Robby Berner.

After winning his first match, 9-3, 10-8, 9-1, junior Frank Cohen lost to No. 5 seed Will Newnham in the second round of the Malloy Cup bracket.

Freshman William Ahmed fell in four games in his first-round matchup with Willams’ Cameron Henry. Sophomore Richard Hill, who had earned the fourth seed in the Malloy Cup, retired due to injury in the third game of his match with JP Rothie of USC.

—KATE LEIST