HAVERFORD, Pa. - The No. 30 Haverford College men's squash team (6-7) returned to the GIAC Squash Courts on Saturday, dropping a 5-4 decision to No. 33 Georgetown in the morning before returning for a 9-0 win over No. 39 Vassar in the late afternoon matchup.
#33 Georgetown 5, #30 Haverford 4
Haverford nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback after the Hoyas sprinted out to take a 4-0 lead on Saturday morning, but Georgetown held on for the upset win on the road.
The Fords fell into the early hole as Georgetown got key victories from Teddy Donohue, who posted a reverse sweep over Matt Sullivan (2-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6, 12-10), and Alexander Bernhard, who shook off Noah Tunis in four games (11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-9). Other wins for the visitors came at the fifth flight, as William Burke fended off Kai Schinaman (11-2, 11-6, 11-13, 13-11) in four and at the fourth, where Dietrich Jacobs was a winner over Peter Lehv (11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7), also in four games.
From that point, Haverford turned things up a notch, logging four clutch match wins with Aaryaman Jaising sweeping past Brando Sodi (11-6, 12-10, 11-6) and John Collins taking down Sam Subramanian (11-9, 11-7, 11-7) in straight games. Garret Fantini unleashed a four-game triumph over William Conzelman, fending off a second-game challenge (11-7, 11-13, 11-7, 11-5). Ben Schiltz was a winner over Heath Otenasek at the sixth flight, turning away the Georgetown player despite dropping the first game in a spirited extra-points battle (13-15, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8).
Ultimately, the contest rested on that final round of matches, which also featured a battle at the top flight between Quinton Crawford and Raunak Advani. Advani, a transfer from Franklin & Marshall's varsity program, was immediately comfortable against Crawford as he rattled off an 11-5 victory and then fended off Crawford with a 12-10 win in the second game.
With his back up against the wall, Crawford delivered an 11-6 win in the third game, shifting the momentum back to the Haverford side going into the fourth game with the Fords having full knowledge they needed a win to stay alive. In that fourth game, Crawford was within one as late as 10-9 before Advani was able to prevail by an 11-9 final to clinch the match for Georgetown.
#30 Haverford 9, #39 Vassar 0
In the nightcap, the Fords took a 1-0 lead before play began as Vassar was forced to default at the ninth position. Haverford grabbed some early wins as Crawford swept past Sameer Mustafa at the top flight (11-9, 11-3, 11-3) and Tunis allowed just five total points in his win over Razaan Lalji.
Schinaman swept past Luke Chen (11-9, 11-6, 12-10), and Aaryaman Jaising was well on his way to a sweep of Patrick Looby before Looby was forced to retire with an injury. At the sixth flight, John Collins allowed just seven total points in his sweep of Josh Finkelstien (11-2, 11-4, 11-1), while Ben Schiltz fended off the toughest Vassar challenger of the afternoon for the Fords, as Jarid Haslinger forced a fifth game with Schiltz before falling in that decisive game by an 11-9 tally. Game scores for the contest were 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9 as Schiltz could not hold that first game lead, but rallied back when it mattered most to take the final two games for the win.
Garret Fantini got past Wyatt Kern (11-4, 11-3, 11-2) and Matt Sullivan was a winner over Matthew O'Leary (11-4, 11-3, 11-1).
The Fords will wrap up the home slate on Saturday, February 4 with a 1 p.m. contest against No. 53 Bucknell. Prior to the contest with the Bison, the program will honor senior captains Quinton Crawford and John Collins.
The contest will also serve as a prelude to the annual Centennial Conference Round Robin on February 11, with Haverford set to take on No. 17 Franklin & Marshall and No. 28 Dickinson in Lancaster.