No. 29 Men's Squash Edged by No. 30 Denison in Conroy Cup Final, 6-3

Arvin Krishnan

Posted: Mar 02, 2025

PHILADELPHIA – The 29th-ranked Haverford College men's squash team (8-12) came close to capturing the Conroy Cup at the Specter Center in University City, but No. 30 Denison edged out the No. 29 Fords, 6-3, in a tightly contested championship matchup at the College Squash Association Divisional Team Championships. Haverford battled throughout the lineup and remained in striking distance before Denison clinched the title with a pivotal victory at the No. 2 position.

The Fords gained some early momentum with Arvin Krishnan dominating at No. 9, sweeping Owen Mullaly 11-4, 11-3, 11-6. Tarun Sargunar later followed suit with a strong four-game win at No. 5, defeating Ross Falcon 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-4.

However, Denison controlled key moments in the upper lineup, with Juan F. Hernandez overpowering Noah Tunis at No. 1 in straight games (11-6, 11-1, 11-3). A critical early match came at No. 3, where Kai Schinaman battled to the wire but fell in three nail-biting games to Lucas Piller (12-10, 13-11, 12-10). Charlie Fenwick IV followed with another Denison victory at No. 4, outlasting Henry Jiang 11-4, 11-8, 11-8.

Francis Betkowski pushed his match at No. 7 to a deciding game before being edged out by Jackson Bragman (7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5).

With the match still very much in the balance, the Fords looked to Aaryaman Jaising at No. 2 to keep their hopes alive. Jaising took the first game 11-5 and pushed Denison's Tarun Mammen deep into each rally. However, Mammen rallied back to take the next three games (11-8, 11-6, 11-5), securing the clinching point for Denison and dashing Haverford's comeback hopes.

Despite the final result, Haverford's resilience was evident in the tight matchups across the lineup. Garret Fantini added to Haverford's total in a thrilling five-game victory at No. 8, overcoming Gus Nelson 11-1, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4. Qianzhi Zhao battled at No. 6 but fell in three close games (11-4, 12-10, 14-12).

With the loss, Haverford concluded its season at 8-12, narrowly missing out on the Conroy Cup title but proving their competitive edge on the national stage against a talented Denison side that was back at full strength.

The Fords will look to build on their strong performances at both the Liberty League Championships and the Divisional Championships in 2024-25 as they aim for another deep postseason run next year.