Harvard Enjoys Undefeated Weekend Against Unranked Foes

The Harvard men’s squash team (9-0, 1-0 Ivy) blew away the competition this weekend, defeating a slew of teams from the Northeast both at Barnaby Courts and away at MIT to preserve its undefeated record thus far.

The No. 5 Crimson began the weekend’s play on Friday, earning a 9-0 victory over New York University at Barnaby Courts.

The team then defeated Amherst (1-1), 9-0, Saturday morning before traveling to MIT and proceeding to defeat both MIT (3-5) and Boston College, 9-0, as well.

On Sunday, Harvard finished its successful weekend with two more 9-0 victories, beating Northeastern at MIT in the morning and then defeating Boston University back at home.

Although the Crimson did not play any high-ranked opponents, the squad got in a lot of court time in one weekend, allowing for many players throughout the roster to gain some experience.

“Last year, we didn’t play as many games,” sophomore Brandon McLaughlin said. “So, anytime we can get out on the court, it’s good to play.”

HARVARD 9, BU 0

In its last game of this long weekend of squash, Harvard breezed to a 9-0 win against the No. 48 Terriers.

This match marked the first time in program history the Crimson has faced off against BU and also the first time this season in the Terriers, a club team, have played a top-10 opponent.

HARVARD 9, NORTHEASTERN 0

On Sunday morning, Harvard finished its last game at MIT for the weekend with another 9-0 sweep in its first ever match against the No. 31 Huskies.

The Engineers provided the venue for various local teams, who haven’t really matched up in the past to play each other in a round-robin format.

“In the past ... we’ve had a pretty short season in terms of matches,” sophomore Thomas Mullaney said. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t play these teams—they’re literally right in our own backyard. It’s a great way to get a few more matches in.”

HARVARD 9, BC 0

In the first ever matchup between the Crimson and the No. 36 Eagles, Harvard earned yet another 9-0 sweep at the neutral site.

The Crimson used some of its players outside the usual top nine to earn another lopsided victory against the BC club team.

“I think we had some pretty strong results over the weekend,” Mullaney said. “We had a couple of our JV guys step up and crunch out some huge wins.”

HARVARD 9, MIT 0

In the second game on Saturday, the Crimson defeated the No. 34 and host Engineers, 9-0, as well.

Harvard improved to 52-2 in the all-time series with this dominant performance. The team hasn’t lost to crosstown rival MIT since 1955.

HARVARD 9, AMHERST 0

In the first game of a triple-header on Saturday, the Crimson swept No. 21 Amherst at home, losing only one game all match and improving to 48-0 against the Lord Jeffs dating back to 1941.

The top-eight Harvard players won each match, 3-0, and each of the top-four players, led by McLaughlin at No. 1 spot, held his opponent to 10 points or less throughout each match.

At the No. 1 spot, junior Shaw McKean overcame a first-game loss and rebounded to win, 3-1, against Peter Mack of Amherst.

HARVARD 9, NYU 0

The Crimson used a mixed lineup of varsity and JV players in its opening match of the weekend against the Bobcats, an emerging club team according to the Collegiate Squash Association.

But Harvard still did not lose a single game. The No. 5 through No. 9 spots, each making his respective season debut, only gave up a combined 12 points throughout the match.

The top four of sophomore Nigel Koh, who is also a Crimson business editor, junior Zeke Scherl, freshman Julian Kirby, and junior Alexander Ma also played well, each en route to his fourth win of the season.

This was only Harvard’s second time playing NYU and first outing against the Bobcats since defeating them, 4-1, in 1973.

The undefeated Crimson will be off until Jan. 14, but this weekend gave the Crimson valuable experience for future weekends like this.

“I think it was a good chance for us to get a good feel for what it’s going to be like come January when we have pretty rapid fire series of matches,” Mullaney said. “It’s a challenge trying to play so many matches in such a short time.”