Men's Squash Drops No. 1 Rochester and No. 7 St. Lawrence

In every season there are moments that define a team for better or for worse. For the Harvard men’s squash team, this past weekend has the potential to be one such moment.

After notching victories against the likes of several ranked teams in Dartmouth, Drexel, Penn, Princeton, and Tufts earlier in the season, the undefeated Cambridge squad faced a tough road test in No. 1 Rochester and No. 7 St. Lawrence.

The Crimson (7-0, 3-0 Ivy League) didn’t blink, besting the Yellowjackets (8-2, 0-0 Liberty League Athletic Conference) and the Saints (7-2, 0-0 Liberty League) by identical 6-3 scores. Looking deeper into the individual matchups, however, it’s clear to see that Harvard saved its most dominant performance for the nation’s top-ranked squad.

“It feels great to have such a strong performance this weekend,” junior David Ryan said “The whole team’s been training hard this year so it's great to see it pay off on the road. It was a long journey to come all the to Rochester and St Lawrence especially after having lost to both these teams for two years running but the determination was clear from the start.”

Facing off at Lyman Squash Center on Saturday in Rochester, N.Y., the Crimson displayed its workmanlike attitude, grinding out tough points against quality opponents with a focused approach. The middle of the ladder is where Harvard showed its prowess, winning each of its matches at the fourth through eighth positions.

At No. 4 spot, freshman Timmy Brownell fought through injury to pull out a back and forth five game victory — 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6. The match was the toughest test so far for the Belmont, Mass. native who had cruised to three set victories in his four previous contests for the Crimson. Brownell remains undefeated in his rookie campaign.

“In the match against Rochester, freshmen Timmy Brownell was our standout performer,” Ryan said. “Even though he suffered from a nasty dead leg in the second game, he rallied back to win in an epic five game thriller, while battling through cramp as well, to clinch the match, 6-3.”

Fellow freshmen Saadeldin Abouaish and Sean Hughes also played respectably in their most important contests for Harvard thus far, as both triumphed in four-set matches that were challenging early on.

Junior Madhav Dhingra and freshman Alexi Gosset also fought in contested matches at their respective positions with Gosset nearly claiming victory after unexpectedly being thrust into the nine-man ladder due to an illness on the squad. Junior Bradley Smith collected the other loss for the Crimson against Rochester senior Mario Yanez Tapia in three games to secure the final result.

Traveling to Canton, N.Y. for the first time since a December 2014 loss, 7-2, Harvard ended a four-match drought against St. Lawrence. The Crimson followed up its triumph over Rochester with another solid performance at the Robie Squash Center.

The Sunday matches were much tighter than those earlier in the weekend, as four contests went the distance. After fighting back from the stomach illness that took him out for the match against Rochester, senior Dylan Murray proved his mettle by pulling out an important momentum swinging victory in one such fitness testing five-gamer at the eighth position. The Crimson won one of the other three hotly contested matches.

Co-captains Bryan Koh and Devin McLaughlin continued their strong play in their ultimate Harvard season, again triumphing over their St. Lawrence opponents 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. The two collectively remain 51-13 in their Crimson careers since the beginning of their sophomore campaigns.

The team’s quality from top-to-bottom continues to shine through as it tallies more and more victories on the season.

“I think the variety and overall quality of players on our team this year has pushed everyone to train harder and smarter,” Ryan said. “The freshmen who came in have lead the charge in the big matches, showing immense maturity and confidence. We've been increasing our fitness everyday and that let's us rely on our shot making skills even more.”

As it heads into another week of Ivy League play, Harvard looks to continue to build off its dominant core of veteran and rookie players.

“This was a huge weekend for the team, and we definitely made a statement to the league about our strength and resiliency,” Brownell said. “It's very tough to play on back-to-back days against rested opponents, but the guys really showed grit and determination against very talented and experienced teams.”

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