MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 30 ranked Haverford College men's squash team was defeated by No. 26 Bowdoin in the semifinals of the Conroy Cup at the CSA Team Championships on Saturday afternoon, falling by a final tally of 7-2. The Fords are now 10-6 on the season while Bowdoin is 7-11. Haverford displayed an exceptional effort in a match that was much closer than the score reflects, with the final grouping coming down to the wire.
The first round of matchups included Zach Cole taking on Drew Clark at the sixth flight. Clark prevailed with an 11-2, 11-2, 11-5 sweep. Haverford got the upper hand in the first grouping however, as Ryan Dukarm got the best of Travis Rase at the ninth position (11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8) and Davis Chase took down Tyler Shonrock at number three. Chase dropped the first game before roaring back with 11-5, 11-8 and 14-12 victories to hand Haverford a 2-1 lead after three matches were complete.
Andre Giglio lost his matchup to Bowdoin's Uday Khanna at the fifth flight (11-3, 11-2, 11-3) and Yash Singh was defeated at the eighth position (11-2, 11-3, 11-7). Peter Dudley was outlasted by George Cooley at the second flight, coming back to force a fourth game after dropping the first two (11-4, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7). Haverford was down 4-2 entering the final three matches of the afternoon.
The last grouping included three back-and-forth, nail biting finishes. All three of the matches included opponents who were even in fitness and level of play. At the seventh spot, Thomas Kaye was up 2-0 before his opponent Callen Fullerton unleashed a furious comeback for a 6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 victory in five games.
Fitz Dougherty was locked in an epic match with Gannon Leech at number four. Dougherty sprinted out to a game one win before Leech evened things up. The third game went to Dougherty before the fourth went back to Leech as the seesaw battle continued on the courts at Wesleyan. In the deciding fifth game, Dougherty was outlasted in extra points 12-10. The final match score was 3-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 12-10 in favor of the player from Bowdoin.
In the matchup at the top flight, Tate Miller found himself in an 0-2 hole against Satya Butler. Miller rebounded with a game three victory before being downed in extra points in the fourth game as Haverford narrowly missed another upset win.
The Fords will return to action tomorrow in the third place game of the Conroy Cup against No. 28 Tufts. The matchup is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. at Wesleyan. The two squads met earlier this season with Tufts taking a victory at Haverford on January 16.