Men's Squash Finishes Sixth at CSA National Championships

After a contested first round defeat, 5-4, to No. 3 St. Lawrence on Friday at Brady Squash Center in New Haven, Conn., No. 6 Harvard men’s squash’s quest for the Potter Cup officially came to a close.

Although the Crimson (6-7, 5-4 Ivy) followed up the defeat with a solid win against No. 7 Dartmouth to reach the consolation finals, it was ultimately unable to completely recover, as a 7-2 loss to No. 5 Penn on Sunday earned the squad a sixth place finish at the CSA National Team Championships

“We were seeded 6th for this tournament and finished in that position, so we performed to our seedings,” junior co-captain Brian Koh said. “Of course, we would have loved to have sneaked that win in the quarterfinals, which would have been awesome. However, being down a player with injury, I felt we had a good weekend.”

Losing junior co-captain Devin McLaughlin to injury just before the tournament did not help the team’s odds at winning a championship. But it seems as if the unfortunate scenario hardened the squad’s resolve headed into the weekend.

“I think the team responded really well to [McLaughlin’s] injury,” sophomore Mandela Patrick said. “We knew it'd be tough to win nationals without him, but everyone played with their heart and left everything on court. Dev's injury was an obstacle, yes, but we didn't let it deter us in our prep and matches, in fact, it pushed us even harder.”

While it is impossible to predict whether Harvard would have fared better with injured McLaughlin in the lineup, his replacement at the No. 6 position, freshman Alexi Gosset, was winless on the weekend. In fact, the rookie suffered more losses in the tournament, three, than McLaughlin had on the entire season, as the junior registered a lone two losses.

“We knew this season would be a toss up between the nations top eight teams” Koh said. “So all we could do was play with our hearts, and I felt we did that, so no real regrets on that end.”

No. 5 PENN 7, HARVARD 2

As the victor against Penn’s Karim Tarek, 3-1, in the first match to come off the court, Koh helped set the Crimson out to the early lead. But that lead would not last very long, as Penn (11-6, 5-4) came storming back by winning seven of the final eight matches to claim victory in the consolation finals.

The only other Harvard winner on the day was sophomore David Ryan at the first position. Two others, junior Dylan Murray and sophomore Seif Eleinen came close by forcing their opponents to a fifth game, although Murray was hampered by the calf strain he suffered the day prior. Eleinen’s loss at the No. 7 slot, was only his second of the season and the first such loss in any game that has gone the distance in his collegiate career.

HARVARD 6, No. 7 DARTMOUTH 3

On Saturday, however, Harvard was able to produce a solid result against a fellow Ivy League competitor. No. 7 Dartmouth (9-6, 5-3) threatened early, but the Big Green was unable to capture the same spark that led it to what was then perceived as a shocking upset of the Crimson in the opening match of the season.

Although Koh was the only winner in the first wave of matches, putting Harvard in a 2-1 hole, the team went on to win five of the next six en-route to claiming victory in the top five positions with the help of decisive 3-2 triumphs by Murray, and sophomore Bradley Smith at the fifth and second slots, respectively.

No. 3 ST. LAWRENCE 5, HARVARD 4

In it first round matchup of the eight-team tournament on Friday, the Crimson faced a familiar foe, having previously lost to Saint Lawrence (15-3, 4-0 Liberty) earlier in the year.

The result this time around was identical to the earlier match in terms of the final score line and nearly identical in terms of results at each positions with the two squads trading off victories at the sixth and eighth positions. The loss marked the first time the team has been knocked out of the opening round of the tournament since 2011.

No member of Harvard’s top four was able to muster a win on the day as Koh was the only one to even grab a game from his competitor in his 3-1 defeat. However, the bottom half of the ladder responded well as the Crimson claimed victory in four of the five lower positions. Eleinen, Patrick, Murray, and freshman Jack Cooper were responsible for those wins at their respective positions.

We honestly have no major regrets this season,” Partick said. “Yeah we lost some tough matches, but I don't see what we as a team could have done differently to make a difference. Our prep was solid, just that little bit of luck wasn't with us this season. We competed with the best without Dev, and with great recruits coming next year, the sky is the limit.”

—Staff writer Jackson M. Reynolds can be reached at jackson.reynolds@thecrimson.com.