NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Haverford College men's squash (13-3) team posted a 7-2 victory over Bucknell (8-7) in the consolation semifinals of the Conroy Cup on Saturday evening, as College Squash Association (CSA) Men's Team Championships action continued from Yale's Brady Squash Center.
Senior Yash Singh became Haverford's all-time leader with 47 career wins, moving past former teammate Peter Dudley '18, as the record has now been bested two seasons in a row after Tim Saint '02 previously held the record for 16 seasons.
Bucknell got out to an early 1-0 lead as Kyle Ferguson bested Aaron Witkin at the ninth flight (11-3, 11-3, 11-6), and held a 2-1 lead after the first round of matches as Jack Buendia also grabbed a victory over Alex Liu at the sixth flight (6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-13). Tate Miller got the Fords on the scoreboard with a convincing sweep of Riggs Johnson at the third flight (11-7, 11-6, 11-6).
The Fords would not look back from that point, as Alden Weinberg grabbed a win at the eighth flight over Richard Fitzgerald, winning in four after dropping the first game (4-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4).
Haverford also got wins from Fitz Dougherty and Singh during the round, with Dougherty allowing just 12 total points to his opponent in a sweep at the second flight (11-5, 11-3, 11-4). Singh then became the program's all-time career wins leader in convincing fashion at the fifth flight. Singh fended off a challenge from Henry Charman, needing extra points to eek out a 15-13 victory in the first game. With the first game already in his pocket, Singh played with a renewed energy, easily dispatching Charman 11-5 and 11-4 in the final two games of the sweep.
With a 4-2 lead after six matches were complete, the Fords looked to Keil Reedich at the fourth flight and Davis Chase at the top flight to help seal the win. Coincidentally, the matches finished at almost the exact same time as Reedich swept past Matt Myers (11-9, 11-4, 11-5) while Chase bounced back from a first game loss to storm past his opponent Delancey McFadden. McFadden grabbed the 12-10 win to begin things, but Chase responded with 11-6, 11-3, and 11-6 victories.
With the two matches in hand, Haverford had the overall victory confirmed and a 6-2 lead, with just Ryan Dukarm left to finish at the seventh flight. Dukarm was locked in a battle with Bryan Yekelchik, as the Bison player had an answer for each of Dukarm's first two victories, responding with second and fourth game triumphs. In the fifth, Dukarm appeared to finally get the upper hand, as he turned what was a tense affair into a relatively easy triumph with the overall team match in hand, taking an 11-2 victory to send the Fords to the 7-2 final.
The Fords have now reached the consolation final of the Conroy Cup, and will face off with No. 28 Wesleyan at 2 p.m. at the Chelsea Piers complex in Stamford, Conn. The two teams met at the Pioneer Valley Invitational earlier this year, with Wesleyan coming away with a 7-2 victory at home.