Men’s Squash Backs Up National Ranking with Three Big Wins

The Harvard men’s squash team continues to roll, building on a strong start to the season by bowling over three nationally ranked squads in its first matches of 2017.

Beginning the new year with a trip to the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the No. 4 Crimson (4-0, 3-0 Ivy League) faced off against Drexel, Penn, and Princeton. Harvard decisively bested each of its competitors, ranked No. 6, No. 7, and No. 11 in the nation, respectively, to remain undefeated on the season.

“We were very pleased with our performance over the weekend,” co-captain Devin McLaughlin said. “Everyone trained hard over the winter break and came out for the long weekend fit and prepared, both mentally and physically. It's always tough to play away, so getting three wins against some very strong teams was great to see.”

The Crimson’s rookies played crucial roles in its success, as Saadeldin Abouaish, Timothy Brownell, Sean Hughes collectively went 8-1 on the road trip.

“All of the guys did well this weekend and got the job done,” fellow co-captain Bryan Koh said. “The three freshmen handled themselves and their squash extremely well, seeing that it is their first matches of college squash. I am very proud of them and good to see they are fitting in well already.”

HARVARD 8, PRINCETON 1

The Tigers (2-5, 0-2 Ivy) began the season with two 8-1 victories against Franklin & Marshall and George Washington University but entered its Sunday match against the Crimson with a four-game losing streak. Harvard helped to continue that streak, as an 8-1 triumph at the Jadwin Squash courts in Princeton, N.J. proved to be far from difficult.

3-0 Crimson wins proved to be the norm, with seven matches producing the result. Junior Madhav Dhingra’s contest, however, was more of a back-and-forth affair. Neither player won consecutive games, and a narrow 12-10 loss in the fifth set was all that kept Harvard from completing a 9-0 sweep of the Tigers.

HARVARD 8, PENN 1

Looking to avenge its 7-2 loss to the Quakers (3-4, 0-1 Ivy) in last year’s CSA Team Championships, the Crimson did just that on Saturday at the Ringe Squash Courts. During its 8-1 triumph, Harvard’s depth proved too much for its opponents to handle.

Each of the seven matches in the third through the ninth positions was completed in just three games. The Crimson won every single one of those matches conclusively. Dhingra’s match against Penn junior Derek Hsue was the closest of those bouts on paper, but its final result, 11-5,11-9,11-8, was still relatively one-sided.

The matches at the first and second positions both went to five sets with Abouaish triumphing and junior Bradley Smith playing to the opposite result.

“It was a relief to have a decisive victory against Penn after our unfortunate loss at Nationals last year,” McLaughlin said. “Those who were there last year definitely had the sting of that loss in their minds as we were playing, which I think helped carry us to victory.”

HARVARD 7, DREXEL 2

In the first competitive action of its three-match road trip, the Crimson bested the Dragons (6-3, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association) by a score of 7-2 to maintain an unbeaten record in its all-time series against Drexel.

For Smith, the first match against Dragons sophomore Bransten Ming represented an easier test, as he was able to win in four sets. The junior recovered nicely after falling, 11-7, in the first game. By contrast, Koh faced a tougher test than in his match against Penn, pulling out a five-game win against his Drexel opponent. Brownell, Dhingra, McLaughlin, and junior David Ryan all claimed victory in three.

Hughes also nabbed another easy victory, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 over junior Noel Solomon. With the win, the Newton Square, Pa. native claimed his first ever victory for Harvard less than 15 miles from his hometown.

Abouaish and senior Dylan Murray accounted for the Crimson’s two losses in the Kline & Specter Squash Center at first and sixth positions, respectively.

“These were tricky matches, and I'm glad the boys took care of business,” Koh said. “Against Penn, it was of course nice to get a win over them after last season’s loss. However, we have other tough matches coming up and should get right back to preparing for those to make sure we are in the best position for nationals.”

—Staff writer Jackson M. Reynolds can be reached at jacksonreynolds@college.harvard.edu.