Freshman Overpowers Squash Opponents

When Colin West ’10—last year’s No. 1 for the Harvard men’s squash team and 2010 CSA individual champion—graduated last May, he left his successor, freshman Gary Power, with some pretty big shoes to fill.

But Power has proven throughout the season that he can handle the challenge, this past week being no exception.

“It’s definitely hard to follow in his footsteps, but I like the pressure of being number one,” Power said. “I like being able to play tough matches every time.”

In the span of four short days, from last Wednesday to Saturday, Power earned his two greatest victories of the season, defeating the top player of both the No. 2 Yale Bulldogs and the undefeated No. 1 Trinity Bantams.

“He’s a mature young man, very gifted and very competitive,” Crimson coach Mike Way said. “He always gives it one hundred percent. He’s still developing and evolving, and, as each year goes by, he’s going to become a much, much better player.”

Though the Trinity team had just extended its record-setting winning streak to 238 matches, Power remained unshaken by that fact and entered last Wednesday’s match confident and ready to win.

“My whole body felt really good,” Power said. “There was a big crowd there. It was the first time we had a big match at home, so it was definitely really exciting. I was really pumped up and I don’t think the Trinity guy I played was really ready for it.”

Power won the match in four sets. He beat his opponent in the first two sets, 11-6 and 11-7, respectively.

The third set proved to be more of a challenge, and Power lost, 11-9. In the fourth set, despite controversial calls, Power ultimately held on, winning the set, 11-4, and the match, 3-1.

“He really had to hold his composure there, because he nearly let that fourth game slip,” Way said. “[Trinity senior Parth Sharma] came back at him when we thought he was dead and gone. [Gary’s composure is] the sort of thing we’re looking for—maturity. You recognize that something’s slipping and then you make the adjustment, which is what he did mentally and tactically. He ended up getting the job done.”

Power’s victory was one of only three wins Harvard earned last Wednesday against the undefeated Bantams, but his success came as no surprise to his teammates who only expect the best from the talented and hardworking freshman.

“Gary played great squash and took his guy down,” captain Reed Endresen said. “He was just a far better player that night.”

The win put Power in the perfect mindset for the team’s next matchup against Ivy rival Yale, which took place this past Saturday. Power had already played his Bulldog opponent once before in the November Ivy scrimmages and lost, which made Saturday’s match all the more important.

Yet once again, Power did not allow his confidence to become shaken. Instead, he took what he learned from his first match against the Yale sophomore Hywel Robinson and fought even harder to beat his opponent in five matches, 3-2.

In the first set, Power came out strong, winning, 11-6. But after allowing his opponent to take an early lead in both the second and third sets, he followed the initial victory with back to back losses, 11-8 and 11-7, respectively.

Then, in the fourth match, Power overtook his opponent, 11-8, tying the match at two sets apiece.

“You can’t really think the game is over,” Power said. “I’ve played the guy before and he beat me last time, but we’re very close in ability so I knew if I just stuck in there...then I might just pull it out for a win.”

The fifth set was the highlight of the day and kept fans, family members, and friends sitting on their edge of their seats as they watched to see if the young freshman could really make a comeback after suffering two losses in a row.

Power started off the set brilliantly with a 4-0 lead, but couldn’t hold onto it for long. His opponent fought back and tied the score, 9-9. The match would go into extra points and the score would be tied two more times before Power, suddenly taking the lead, 12-11, scored the next and final point to win the set, 13-11.

“It’s very easy, when you’ve lost to someone before, to play well against them the next time and be happy just with the fact that you played well,” Way said. “But [Gary] found a way to win and that was actually a better result than the one against Trinity. [The matches against Trinity and Yale] were both fantastic results, but I thought that [Saturday’s win] was a better result mentally.”

Power owes much of his success this past week to the mental and physical fitness he’s worked hard to develop over the season.

“He’s a total workhorse, always pushing the guys around him to step up. I really enjoyed working with him this year. He’s allowed me to push myself,” said Endresen, who started out at the No.5 spot but moved up to No. 2 after winter break. “He’s definitely the fittest guy on the team. I have the upmost respect for him as a player. “

“He’s got a good shot at winning [the CSA individual championship],” Endresen continued. “He’s proven to everyone that he’s one of the best players in college squash this year.”