In Final Collegiate Match, West Wins National Title

In his last match as a collegiate squash player, Colin West finally accomplished a goal he had been working toward for four years.

At the College Squash Association Individual National Championship Tournament this past weekend, West won his first Individual National Championship and the 33rd title in Crimson history.

“It’s definitely a good way to finish off my career,” West said. “You want to win it for your teammates, you want to win it for Harvard.”

West, a senior and the tournament’s No. 1 seed, defeated Princeton freshman and No. 2 seed Todd Harrity 3-0 in the finals of the Pool Cup division yesterday.

West took a close first game from Princeton’s No. 1 Harrity, 11-9, although he admitted that neither competitor played to his full potential in the opening frame.

“I think we both started off a little bit nervous,” West said.

But during the second game, the match reached the caliber of that of a national championship.

“The second game was where the real thick of the match unfolded,” West said. “He was really in control for most of that game.”

Harrity built up an early 8-5 advantage and had game balls at 10-9 and 11-10, but West was able to save both and win the game 13-11, to take a 2-0 lead.

“The second game was the pivotal point that turned the match totally in Colin’s favor,” said Harvard squash coach Satinder Bajwa.

“[The second game] was the real crux of the match,” West agreed. “Had he won that game, I think it would have ended up being a very different match.”

West easily swept through the third set, winning 11-1 to lock up his first ever national title.

“I was a little bit sharper [in the third],” West said.

Despite the 3-0 score, Harrity pushed West to his limit during the national title match.

“It was a tougher match than the score suggests,” Bajwa said.

West swept through the first two rounds of the tournament relatively easily, although he admitted that his level of play was lower than he would have liked.

“I started off the event a little bit slow,” West said.

On the other hand, Bajwa attributed West’s slow start to the academic pressures placed on any Harvard student-athlete, especially a senior Social Studies concentrator.

“A lot of academic pressure, trying to do a thesis, and all of that were all on Colin’s mind,” Bajwa said. “He was trying to get a good balance between his squash and his thesis.”

Once he reached the later rounds of the tournament, though, West’s play peaked.

“I really saved my better squash for when I needed it,” the senior said.

West took down high-seeded opponents including Trinity’s Vikram Malhotra (No. 8 seed) and Rochester’s Benjamin Fischer (No. 5) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, without dropping a single game. West also picked up the Skillman Award given to a senior competitor who exhibits sportsmanship throughout his college career. But West was not the only Crimson player to find success at the Individual Championships.

Two other Harvard players, juniors J. Reed Endresen and Richard Hill, also competed in the Pool Division—the top division of the CSA Individual Championships. Both eventually fell to runner-up Harrity.

Endresen put up a good fight in the first round, winning the second game of the match 11-3, but eventually fell 3-1.

“Reed played really well, he mixed the game up a bit,” Bajwa said. “It was a good match for him for the future.”

After falling in the first round, Endresen encountered Cornell’s Alex Domenick in the consolation bracket, but came up short 3-2, which eliminated him from the rest of tournament play.

Hill, also competing in the Pool division, beat the Big Red’s Domenick 3-2 to open tournament play, but couldn’t keep up as Harrity took the second round 3-0. Hill moved straight into the consolation quarterfinals after his loss, but fell to Yale’s Hywel Robinson, the tournament’s overall No. 7 seed 3-0, ending his tournament run.

MOLLOY DIVISION

In the Molloy division, which serves as the ‘B’ division for the Individual championship, freshman Jason Michas reached the finals before bowing out to Yale’s Chris Plimpton in a close 3-2 match. After a first round bye, Michas beat Scott Phillips of St. Lawrence, 3-2, followed by a 3-2 win against Yale’s Naishadh Lalwani in the round of 16. The Crimson freshman topped Princeton’s Peter Sopher in the quarterfinals, 3-1, before sweeping the Tigers’ Jesus Pena—seeded No. 2 in the division—3-0 to reach the finals.

“Jason has really gotten better each stage of the tournament,” Bajwa said. “He finished off with a very strong showing,”

Freshman Zeke Scherl, the overall No. 4 seed in the Molloy division, earned a first-round bye and cruised through his first match against George Washington’s Omar Sobhy before succumbing to Oscar Lopez in the round of 16, 3-2. The freshman then moved straight into the consolation quarterfinals, where he beat Rochester’s Matt Domenick 3-2, before falling to Ethan Buchsbaum of Williams in the semifinals, 3-0.