Despite having the match of his career on Saturday, junior Gary Power wasn’t powerful enough to lead the No. 3 Harvard men’s squash team to a national championship.
After dropping his first two games in the semifinal against No. 2 Princeton, Power came back to sweep the next three and propel the Crimson into the final round.
It wasn’t enough.
Twenty-four hours later, the Crimson fell to Trinity for the second time this season in New Haven as Power dropped his second close match in two days.
In Harvard’s first appearance in the final round of the Potter Cup since its second place finish in 2004-2005, the Crimson couldn’t hold on against an undefeated Bantams squad. Trinity won its 14th championship in 15 years, after being unseated last year for the first time in 13 years by Princeton.
Finishing the season with a 17-3 record, the Crimson will look to make another run at the title next season and win its first championship since 1998.
“[I have] mixed feelings,” junior Ali Farag said. “I think the whole season we had the goal of winning and also we persevered and the final went either way. This will make us nothing but stronger and harder to beat next year.”
TRINITY 6, HARVARD 3
Despite jumping out to a lead against the Bantams, the Crimson dropped contests in the fourth through eighth slots and left defeated.
“Trinity is a lot better prepared than any other team,” Farag said. “They took the title home, but they were more lucky and determined today. I think it could have gone either way, but we couldn’t get the two matches that we need.”
Farag swept his match, 3-0, in the top spot and held Bantam junior Reinhold Hergeth to five points or less in each game. Harvard also saw victories from No. 3 junior Nigel Koh and No. 9 senior Alexander Ma.
“It meant a lot to be trusted by my teammates and go up and represent Harvard in such an important match and by all the alums who haven’t been in that place in so long,” Ma said. “Harvard has a rich tradition in squash and as a senior I made it my goal to reward everyone for their hard work.”
Playing in the No. 4 spot, Power came back from a first game loss to take the next two against Trinity’s sophomore Karan Malik, outscoring his opponent 22-13. But the senior couldn’t keep his streak going, dropping the final two games and taking a 3-2 loss, his third of the season.
HARVARD 5, PRINCETON 4
Despite Farag losing the first match of his collegiate career, the Crimson held the Tigers at bay to win the semifinal round of the Potter Cup.
Read more in Sports
Track and Field Women Claim First Indoor Ivy Title in 13 YearsRecommended Articles
-
Men's Squash Suffers First Loss in ThrillerThe last time that Harvard men’s squash won a match against Princeton, George W. Bush had just been inaugurated into his second term as President. But the year that Bush’s successor was inaugurated into his second term of office would not be the one to break the skid.
-
Men's Squash Tops Cornell, ColumbiaThe Crimson (13-1, 4-1 Ivy) handily defeated the Lions, 8-1, on Saturday afternoon. Harvard did not suffer a letdown the next day, going on to dispatch the Big Red on Sunday, 6-3.
-
Men's Squash Dominates In Sweep of BrownWith its past success and talent on the roster, it’s not all that surprising when Harvard’s men’s squash steps up ...
-
Power Lifts Men's Squash to Tournament FinalsBut Power rose to the occasion for Harvard, rallying to win the final three sets, and catapult his team into the tournament finals.
-
Farag Comes Up Short in Title Defense -
Individual Performance of the Year, Runner-Up: Gary Power, Men's SquashComeback powers men's squash to semifinal victory.
