HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's squash team will head into the final weekend of the regular season with momentum on its side after the Fords dealt visiting Lehigh a sound 9-0 defeat Thursday evening on the GIAC Squash Courts. On top of the 9-0 blanking, all 27 games went the way of the Fords during an impressive outing.
Playing the even matches first, Yash Singh was the first Haverford victory of the evening. He allowed just eight points in his match at No. 4 during his seventh victory of the season. Alex Liu quickly followed suit as he conceded just five points over his three-game sweep. He closed his fourth victory of the season with an 11-0 third game. Liu was first on the court despite playing No. 9 after the Mountain Hawks did not bring a No. 10 player.
The Fords' Nos. 6 and 8 players put the team on the brink of an early victory. In the eighth spot on the ladder, Ryan Dukarm allowed just seven points in his first two games before cruising to his team-leading ninth win of the season. Dukarm is now 6-3 playing at No. 8. Jonathan Nguyen picked up his seventh win of the season at No. 6.
Peter Dudley guaranteed a Haverford victory by clinching the fifth point of the match. The last match during the first wave of action, Dudley was an 11-1 winner in his final game to lock down Haverford's victory. He now has seven wins in the second position on the ladder this season.
Haverford's momentum did not waver as the second wave of matches began to hit the court. Zach Cole tied Dukarm for the team lead with his ninth victory of the season on Thursday. Cole allowed just seven points at No. 7. Laurenson Ward was the next to finish up play. In the closest match of the evening, Ward fought off hard challenges from his opponent in each game to record his sixth win of the season in 11-7, 11-8, and 11-9 fashion.
Aaron Horwitz notched the team's eighth point of the night with his victory at No. 5. Horwitz was playing No. 5 for the first time this season and now has two wins in his five matches back from his semester abroad. Nathan Vestrich-Shade nailed down the final point as he got better each game during an 11-5, 11-3, 11-2 victory. The team co-captain now owns seven victories at the top of the ladder for the team.
Men's squash will wrap up the regular season on the GIAC Squash Courts this Saturday with matches against NYU (10:30 a.m.) and Georgetown (3:30 p.m.). The women will also be in action against NYU and Georgetown during those same time slots. Prior to the start of Saturday's matches, the men's and women's squash teams will recognize the program's seniors as a part of Senior Day festivities.