Signature wins: Haverford started the season with a victory over Washington (Nov. 12), taking a 6-3 triumph over the Huskies at the Navy Round Robin in Annapolis, Md. Ryan Dukarm was a standout in the first threesome of matches after Haverford dropped a pair, pulling the Fords towards a victory. The Fords took down Vassar (Nov. 19) with a resounding 8-1 win to wrap up the month. Haverford would face off with Vassar again (Jan. 21), again prevailing by a score of 8-1 against a team that was ranked closely with the Fords all season long.
Haverford won four of its final five contests, starting with a 9-0 sweep against Boston College (Feb. 11). Aaron Horwitz took down James Stevenson in three games during the match, with the third game going extra points. The senior pulled away with a 14-12 win in his penultimate home outing at the GIAC Squash Courts.
All three matchups at the CSA Team Championships in Cambridge, Mass. were rematches of contests from earlier in the season. Haverford took down Washington (Feb. 17) for the second time, starting the postseason with a win over the team it faced to begin the regular season campaign. Horwitz and Zach Cole delivered sweeps to highlight the opening-round win. The Fords advanced to face Boston College (Feb. 18), taking a 6-3 win over the Eagles, eclipsing the 13 win plateau and setting a new program record for single-season wins.
In the final match of the season (Feb. 19), Haverford avenged an earlier defeat to Bucknell, flipping a 5-4 defeat in the previous duel to a 5-4 win in the rematch and capturing the Chaffee Cup in the process. At the number five position, Zach Cole posted a momentous win over Jack Buendia, sprinting out to a 2-0 lead with 11-7 and 11-5 wins before dropping a 7-11 decision. In extra points, Cole prevailed 12-10 for a four-game triumph that began to turn the tide in favor of Haverford and bring a clearer path towards a Fords victory.
Season notes: The 2016-17 campaign was nothing short of a historic season for the Haverford men as the team finished with a program-record 15 victories and a No. 33 national ranking by virtue of the victory ... The Chaffee Cup win is the fourth overall CSA division title for the Fords, and the first since a Serues Cup (F Division) victory in 2011-12 ... Haverford has also twice captured the Conroy Cup (D Division), taking the title in that grouping in 2001-02 and 1999-00 ... Milestones reached in 2017 for the Fords include seeing the existing regular season individual wins record eclipsed by Ryan Dukarm (15 wins) and Yash Singh (15 wins) ... Aaron Horwitz finishes his team career with 36 wins, a mark that is fourth in program history while Zach Cole (34) and Peter Dudley (33) look ready to climb the record books at the end of their junior seasons.
Postseason Awards:
- CSA Chaffee Cup Champion
- Ambler Scholar-Athlete: Aaron Horwitz
- Harrow Sports / CSA Player of the Chaffee Cup: Aaron Horwitz
Looking ahead: Haverford will graduate Horwitz but return the rest of the ladder, including co-captains Peter Dudley and Zach Cole. After reaching a new high win total in 2016-17, head coach Niki Clement will enter her eighth season at the helm with an experienced ladder ready to lead the Fords to another title.