AMHERST, Mass. - The 30th-ranked Haverford College men's squash team (5-4) wrapped up its first day of Pioneer Valley Invitational action with a pair of victories at Amherst College. The Fords took down No. 34 Hobart by a 7-2 final, before coming back in the evening session for an impressive 9-0 blanking of No. 38 Bard at the Davenport Squash Courts.
Haverford 7, Hobart 2
The first match of the day saw the Fords make the most of some close, competitive matches. Fitz Dougherty swept Mohamed Abdelhafez (11-4, 11-4, 11-4) at the second flight, and Quinton Crawford similarly took down Giacomo Dalle Molle (11-9, 11-4, 11-3) at the third. Nathan Wang (11-6, 11-5, 11-9) and Khalil Walker (11-3, 11-4, 11-6) both recorded sweeps at the eighth and ninth flights, respectively, but the Fords were forced to fend off tough challenges from the Statesmen for crucial wins at the fourth, fifth, and sixth flights. Tate Miller turned away a challenge from James Mazzarelli at the fourth flight (7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-2), while Keil Reedich also stormed past Cameron Temoyan after Temoyan grabbed the second game in hard-fought four-gamer at the fifth flight (7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-2).
Perhaps the most thrilling contests of the afternoon came at the sixth and seventh flights, with John Collins outlasting Eric Molina in a back-and-forth five-game thriller at the sixth. Collins dropped the first and third games to the Hobart player before roaring back for two straight victories (10-12, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7). Haverford was on the wrong end of a comeback at the seventh flight, as Quran Davis nipped Alden Weinberg in five after falling behind early (8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9).
For Haverford, the matchup was a chance to avenge a loss in the CSA Team Championships a season ago, as the Fords won against Hobart for the first time in program history.
Haverford 9, Bard 0
Haverford looked sharp in a thorough victory over the Raptors in the nightcap. Davis Chase rallied back from a defeat in the first match of the day for a relatively straightforward sweep of Theo Webb at the top flight. Dougherty also turned away Artun Ak at the second flight while Crawford allowed just eight points in his convincing sweep of Noah Gichan at the third flight.
Miller surrendered just eight total points in his sweep of Martin Graham at the fourth position, and Reedich similarly took his battle with Lukas Roscoe in straight games at number five. Collins shook off a first game loss to Alex Luscher, surrendering just nine points over the final three games at the sixth flight.
Wang was locked in a tense, classic matchup with John Michael Richards, as Wang grabbed the first game before falling behind 2-1. Undaunted, the first year emerged with consecutive 11-8 decisions in the fourth and fifth games to steal a momentous victory and ensure the shutout result for Haverford. Walker and Witkin each prevailed in sweeps at the eighth and ninth flights, with Witkin posting a particularly dominant performance, surrendering just five total points to Wyatt Alger at the ninth.
Tate Miller ends the day with 39 career victories, moving into sixth position on the program's all-time career leaderboard. Haverford is now 15-0 all-time against Bard. Last season, Haverford took an 8-1 victory at the GIAC Squash Courts as the series was revived for the first time since 2006.
Men's Squash now wraps up the weekend at the Pioneer Valley Invitational on Sunday, taking on host No. 22 Amherst at 10 a.m.