11/22 update: Chatham forfeits lineup positions 5-9 due to an ineligible player, giving Haverford a 5-4 victory.
PHILADELPHIA - The No. 31 Haverford College men's squash team (0-2) kicked off the 2023-24 campaign with the first day of the Pennsylvania State Championships, facing defeats against No. 15 Chatham and No. 6 Drexel at the Penn Squash Center Saturday.
The Penn State Championships, or Penn Cup, is an annual tournament style event contested between every varsity squash program in the state of Pennsylvania, including a pair of perennial Division I powerhouses in Philadelphia's Penn and Drexel along with upstart Chatham out of Pittsburgh. Centennial Conference foes Franklin & Marshall and Dickinson round out the annual field.
In the initial match of the day, played in the morning session at Penn, Haverford suffered a tough loss against Chatham with a final score of 9-0 before similarly falling to the Dragons by the same score in the late afternoon.
#15 Chatham 9, #31 Haverford 0
Chatham's Jared Nalliah defeated Noah Tunis in three closely contested games at the top flight, finishing 11-8, 11-8, 11-3. At the second flight for Chatham, Muhammad Hasaan Raza secured victory against newcomer Qianzhi Zhao in three straight games, with a score of 11-6, 11-1, 11-7. Despite a valiant effort from Aaryaman Jaising at the third singles rung, Vaca Sanchez of Chatham emerged victorious in a four-game battle, clinching the win with scores of 11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 11-4.
Chatham's prowess persisted throughout the lineup, but another newcomer, Francis Betkowski, had a stellar turn against Ishaan Nayar at the sixth flight to highlight the morning for the Fords. Betkowski rattled off consecutive 11-9, 11-9 victories to open up his match, but his Chatham opponent responded with three consecutive 11-5 wins to complete the reverse sweep, narrowly denying Betkowski his first career victory.
#6 Drexel 9, #31 Haverford 0
Haverford returned later in the day for the late-afternoon showdown with Drexel. The Fords matched up with the Dragons for the second consecutive season after welcoming Drexel to the GIAC Squash Courts a season ago in Penn Cup action.
Youssef Bastawy prevailed at the top flight on Saturday, taking victory over Tunis and securing the match 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 as the two went toe-to-toe in a highly anticipated clash. Similarly, Fritiof Jacobsson grabbed a win over Zhao at the second flight, clinching the victory 11-8, 11-4, 11-3, with the Haverford rookie again looking poised against one of Drexel's top players.
The third flight singles match, and the last match to reach a conclusion as the teams gathered at the court, featured Aaryaman Jaising and Jose Andres Lopez locking horns. The matchup proved to be a tightly contested battle. Lopez ultimately emerged victorious in a four-game match, winning 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9. Jaising's resilience in the third set perfectly demonstrated Haverford's fighting spirit against a tough opponent.
The Pennsylvania State Championships continue at the Penn Squash Center tomorrow, with Men's Squash going toe-to-toe with Dickinson to wrap up the action at 10 a.m.