M. Squash Strong On Top, But Lacks Depth

Traditionally, the strength of the Harvard men’s squash team has been its depth. That tradition likely won’t continue this season, but the No. 3 Crimson hopes to honor its past in other ways.

The 1990s were the heyday of Harvard men’s squash. The Crimson won seven of eight Potter Team Trophies as national champions between 1991 and 1998, including five in a row beginning in 1994. From 1990 to 1996, Harvard players also monopolized the individual championships. Of late, however, Trinity has won four straight team national titles, and Trinity and Princeton players have combined to win the last six individual crowns.

This year’s edition of the Crimson has a head start in returning to that level, with nearly every contributor from last year’s national semifinalist squad back for another attempt. Of the lineup that ultimately fell to Trinity, only No. 5 David Barry ’02 and No. 8 Tomo Hamakawa ’02 are not back. Peter Karlen ’02, who ended the 2001 season ranked sixth in the country, has also graduated, but various injuries relegated him to the role of an unofficial assistant coach for much of last season, anyway.

Even with so many players returning, Harvard will turn to freshman Will Broadbent to spearhead its attempt to return to the pinnacle of collegiate squash. Coach Satinder Bajwa plans to subject Broadbent to a trial by fire of sorts, installing the rookie immediately in the No. 1 slot for the Crimson’s season opener against Brown tomorrow evening.

Behind Broadbent, junior No. 5 James Bullock, a First-Team All-American, will fill the second spot on Harvard’s ladder. Last year, Bullock demonstrated his ability to compete with anyone in the college game when he defeated Princeton’s David Yik, then the defending intercollegiate champion.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Crimson, though, is the improvement of sophomore Asher Hochberg. Hochberg spent most of last season toiling near the bottom of Harvard’s lineup, but begins this year as the Crimson’s No. 3, having responded well to a reduced training regimen intended to protect him from the fatigue that plagued him last season.

“I played junior squash as an individual, so it was really hard for me to adjust to a team atmosphere and I got really burnt out really quickly,” Hochberg said. “The nature of the individual sport is that when you’re feeling good, you should train real hard and when you’re not, you should just take the day off.”

Harvard’s No. 4 will be sophomore Mike Blumberg, another First-Team All-American and the preseason intercollegiate No. 8. Blumberg is coming off a dream rookie campaign in which he went undefeated in regular season play, recording the Crimson’s only two victories against Trinity all season. He ended the year by capturing the Pool Plate as the winner of the ISA consolation bracket after bowing out of national title contention against eventual champion Bernardo Samper of the Bantams.

After such a successful season, Blumberg has the squash world abuzz wondering how far he can go.

“Who knows what his potential is?” co-captain Dylan Patterson said. “In a match situation, Mike’s real tough. He’s so light on his feet when most people get nervous and their feet get heavy.”

No. 15 Patterson, himself a Second-Team All-American last year, rounds out Harvard’s top five. Patterson, who teamed with Karlen to win the Ketcham Trophy as national doubles champion, may have benefited more from Karlen’s injury than anyone else. While every Crimson player gained valuable experience when the lineup was shifted to compensate for Karlen’s absence, Patterson played as high as No. 1, giving him the chance to compete against the nation’s best.

With Harvard’s lack of depth, the Crimson’s success this season will largely hinge on the performance of those five and junior No. 21 Ziggy Whitman, who is currently sidelined with a groin injury.

“The anchors and the middle of the lineup will probably make or break a lot of the tough matches,” Patterson said.

Injuries, though, are one thing that could derail the Crimson before it even gets started. Lacking the plethora of players competing for positions at the bottom of the lineup it has enjoyed in the past, Harvard could struggle if players are forced to miss matches. The Crimson’s vulnerability was only exacerbated by Ryan Abraham’s decision to take a year off after his rookie campaign, although sophomore Gaurav Yadav’s return from his own year away could help Harvard compensate.

Even if everyone stays healthy, the Crimson’s strength at the top of the ladder won’t guarantee it an easy road. Nine of last season’s 10 First-Team All-Americans are back, with Trinity and No. 2 Princeton each returning three All-Americans.

In addition to Broadbent, two other freshmen should make an immediate impact—Princeton’s Yasser El Halaby and No. 4 Yale’s Julian Illingworth. Each has already staked his claim to his team’s top spot, with El Halaby vaulting Yik and last year’s intercollegiate No. 2, Will Evans, narrowly beating Bullock last weekend at the Ivy scrimmage. Illingworth, who defeated Broadbent in the USSRA 19-and-under National finals last winter, also beat Samper at the Price-Bullington Invitational earlier this month. Still, Bajwa believes he got the better freshman.

“Sometimes in juniors one player develops a little bit quicker than another,” Bajwa said. “In William’s case, maybe he developed slightly later [than Illingworth], but William will develop in college and is likely to pass him.”

The Ivies, then, are shaping up to be a three-horse race between the Tigers, who won the Ivy scrimmage, Yale, who beat Harvard 7-2 in the semifinals, and the Crimson. Whether the winner will emerge too drained to challenge Trinity’s reign or battle-tested enough to compete with the Bantams remains to be seen, but Bullock, for one, subscribes to the latter.

“If you can do well in the Ivy League, there’s no reason you shouldn’t give Trinity a pretty good fight,” he said.

But besting the four-time defending champion and reclaiming its place as the best in collegiate squash will require Harvard to overcome a different historical precedent.

“Sometimes we’ve relied on the middle core and the lower players,” Bajwa said. “Now we’re going to have to rely on the middle core and the higher-level players.”

—Staff writer Alan G. Ginsberg can be reached at aginsber@fas.harvard.edu.