No. 3 M. Squash Succumbs to No. 1 Trinity

The No. 3 Harvard men’s squash team fell 8-1 to No. 1 Trinity in front of a huge Saturday afternoon crowd that included Trinity’s new president, Richard H. Hersh.

The lone victory for the Crimson (4-1, 3-0 Ivy) came in the afternoon’s last match, in which sophomore intercollegiate No. 21 Mike Blumberg defeated No. 7 Nickolas Kyme, 3-1.

Blumberg fell into a one-game hole as his overeagerness led him to commit several unforced errors.

“If he hits a loose shot, the opportunity is there,” Blumberg said. “It’s just that instead of forcing him to make errors, I took it on myself to end the point right away.”

But Blumberg made some important adjustments to his play that paid off.

“All through the first game, I was just going for it, trying to get every point,” Blumberg said. “Instead of putting pressure on myself, in the next games, I waited for him to make the mistakes.”

When Kyme did miss, Blumberg capitalized on his chances.

The win preserved Blumberg’s career unbeaten record against the Bantams (11-0). In the last three Harvard-Trinity matchups, the Crimson has lost 8-1, with Blumberg recording Harvard’s sole victory each time.

While Blumberg finished on a personal high note, the remainder of the Crimson roster met only with frustration.

Co-captain and intercollegiate No. 19 Dylan Patterson, despite playing some of his best squash of the season, was unable to preserve his early one-game lead and dropped his match at No. 4 to No. 17 Yvain Badan of Switzerland.

At No. 1, freshman No. 10 Will Broadbent suffered the first loss of his career. Broadbent was surprised to learn just hours before the match that he would be facing No. 3 Michael Ferreira, who had recently beaten No. 2 Bernardo Samper, the defending intercollegiate champion, in a challenge match.

Fortunately for Broadbent, both players employ similar styles, meaning he did not have to alter his game plan drastically.

Broadbent, who has been trying to play more consistently over the course of a match, was unable to dictate play against Ferreira, the highest-ranked opponent he has encountered this year. Instead, Ferreira ran Broadbent all over the court, forcing the rookie to resort to diving, off-balance shots.

Broadbent managed to tie the first game at four, but Ferreira won the next five to jump out to a 1-0 lead.

When Ferreira won the first three points of the second game, he appeared poised to win in a rout. Broadbent battled back to tie.

After the pair traded points, Ferreira went on another run, taking four in a row for the 8-4 lead. Broadbent once more recovered to tie the score at eight.

Ultimately, the long drawn-out points and Ferreira’s strong backhand proved too much for Broadbent, who fell 10-8 and then lost the third game, 9-3.

Despite the loss, Broadbent is convinced that he can compete with the best squash players in the country.

“I am only a freshman, so I will have many other chances to play against guys like this, and who knows what can happen?” Broadbent said. “I just made too many mistakes.”

Many other Harvard players lamented their unforced errors after the match.

The Crimson will have to improve its execution when it travels to Amherst to take on the No. 11 Lord Jeffs Monday night.

—Staff writer Alan G. Ginsberg contributed to the reporting of this article.