Merrill had been undefeated in individual competition, including the earlier Trinity matchup, and his absence necessitated adjustments in the lineup that made the task of defeating the Bantams even more daunting.

Despite this misfortune, Harvard put in a valiant effort. Patterson defeated Trinity No. 6 Gourav Juneja in three straight games, and juniors No. 3 Gray Witcher, No. 4 Shondip Ghosh and No. 9 Rob Pike extended their opponents to four frames before falling.

"I think that if everyone was healthy, we could have taken two or three more sets," Bajwa said.

"An 8-1 score isn't terribly close," Harvard's No. 1 co-captain Tim Wyant added. "But these were hard-fought matches against a heavily favored, more talented team."

Sunday's featured individual match pitted Wyant against two-time NISRA singles champion Marcus Cowie.

Cowie had defeated Wyant 3-1 in their previous meeting, but Wyant seemed poised for revenge after taking a thrilling first set, 17-15. However, Cowie came back to sweep the next three sets (15-9, 15-13, 15-4).

"Tim played very well," Bawja said. "We'll work in the next few days and tweak his game just a bit more to get him ready for Individuals."