Crimson Cruises To Third-Straight Win

It was payback time as soon as the No. 5 Harvard men’s squash team stepped onto the courts in Hanover, N.H. last night. After having lost to No. 8 Dartmouth (3-1) in a scrimmage last month, the Crimson (3-0) brought a more united front in the Big Green’s first Ivy League competition, winning, 6-3, for its third victory of the season.

“I think that, on the whole, the team came together,” co-captain Frank Cohen said. “It was a mark on our calendar for a while.”

Co-captain Colin West, ranked second in the country, improved his record to 3-0 with a 3-0 win in the No. 1 spot, defeating Christopher Hansen, 11-9, 11-3, 11-4.

West was among six Harvard players with undefeated records going into yesterday’s match.

One of those, junior J. Reed Endresen faced off against Dartmouth’s Michael Shrubb winning all three games, 11-6, 11-9, and 11-3, eventually securing the No. 4 position with a 3-0 victory in the match.

“I knew my opponent was injured,” Endresen said, “so I just went in there looking to crush him. It was good to get that win.”

Freshmen Jason Michas and Alex Ma finished with 3-0 wins as well.

Michas, playing in the No. 5 slot, defeated Dartmouth’s Luke Lee after emerging victorious in the first game of the match.

While the first game featured a back-and-forth duel, with Michas eventually coming out on top by a score of 17-15, the next two games were less of a challenge. The freshman won the second game by a score of 11-8 and the third by a score of 11-3.

The Big Green’s Daniel Wagman proved to be less of a challenge for Ma, who took the No. 9 position with game scores of 11-5, 11-9, 11-7.

Crimson coach Satinder Bajwa complimented the progress that the freshmen on the team have made.

“They both played a very mature game,” he observed.

Will Ahmed, a sophomore, returned from an injury with a 3-2 victory in the No. 8 spot, claiming wins in the match’s first, second and fifth games.

“Will Ahmed has almost fully recovered and he showed it by winning a match today,” Bajwa said.

Harvard junior Richard Hill and his opponent Nicholas Sisodia went back and forth in an energetic battle. The first game went to Hill, 11-6, while Sisodia took control in the second and third games, with the score ending at 11-7 in both.

Hill quickly rallied, with the fourth game ending 11-8, and sealed the deal with an 11-6 victory in the fifth game.

Dartmouth took the No. 3, 6, and 7 spots defeating freshman Zeke Scherl, Cohen, and senior Alex Lavoie. Scherl and Cohen lost their matches 3-1 while Lavoie lost 3-0.

“This was a good win for us,” Endresen added. “It was good to beat them and really make a statement there. We’ve got young guys stepping up, which is nice.”

The Crimson’s match on Saturday against Cornell will prove to be a similar challenge, with the Big Red ranked right below Harvard at No. 6, but Bajwa believes that his team will be prepared.

“The next match is a touch-and-go match like this one was. We can only prepare 100 percent and see how it goes,” he said.

“Everyone just has to go out there and play really well,” Endresen said. “Cornell has a deep team. A lot of young guys. All of their spots are strong.”

Cohen echoed a similar sentiment.

“I think we’re in a good position,” he said. “It will definitely be a tough match. Individually everyone has their own things to work on.”