HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's squash team (1-0) returned to intercollegiate action on Friday night, blanking Swarthmore (0-1) by a 9-0 final at the GIAC Squash Courts as College Squash Association (CSA) play began in earnest for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic halted action in March of 2020.
With four members of the team seeing their first action on the varsity ladder, the traditional lid-lifter with the Garnet was an opportunity to set the course for a team with big goals for the 2021-22 season.
The Fords made quick work of the Garnet, without surrendering more than three points in any single game. Newcomer Garret Fantini had an impressive debut at the eighth flight, blanking Sameer Halepoto in all three games, without surrendering a single point to his Garnet opponent.
At the top flight, Quinton Crawford allowed just one total point to Joe Radek in an 11-0, 11-1, 11-0 sweep. Peter Lehv similarly pulled to a straightforward victory in his debut at the second flight, taking down Sannan Dhillon (11-1, 11-2, 11-0). Another debutant for the Fords, sophomore Noah Tunis, cleared past James Sutton in a matchup at the third flight (11-3, 11-1, 11-0) while Ben Schiltz also got the best of Saumya Raj in his debut for the Fords at the fourth (11-1, 11-3, 11-2).
Senior Minor Reedich took a decisive victory at the fifth flight, allowing just two total points in a sweep of Paris Shan (11-0, 11-0, 11-2), while fellow senior Alden Weinberg then made the most of his opportunity at the sixth flight in an 11-1, 11-2, 11-1 decision against Zaid Ali.
John Collins was a decisive winner over Abraham Porschet at the seventh flight (11-1, 11-1, 11-0) while senior Aaron Witkin allowed just two total points to Deyvani Mahajan (11-2, 11-0, 11-0).
In the exhibition match, Zadoc Bond debuted for Haverford with a blanking of Owen Sears (11-0, 11-0, 11-0). Haverford improves to 14-0 all-time against the Garnet, as the two sides were meeting for the first time since Halloween of 2019.
Men's Squash next returns to play on Saturday, November 6 with the Alumni Match slated for 1 p.m. at the GIAC Squash Courts. The regular season will begin in earnest on Saturday, November 13 with the Navy Round Robin, as action against Fordham (12 p.m.) and the host Midshipmen (5 p.m.) on the slate in Annapolis, Md.