HARVARD 9, STANFORD 0
Making the cross-country trip to face Dartmouth later on Saturday afternoon, the Cardinal stopped by in Boston for a morning match. But the Palo Alto program might have preferred to skip its rematch against Harvard, who provided another 9-0 thrashing.
The top eight players kept the score sheet flawless, not giving up any games. The Crimson had the opportunity to best its Jan. 16 match when it dropped just one game.
An exciting game at the No. 9 slot saw Mendez face off against sophomore Anna Marie Manning in a game that went to the maximum. The pair split the first four games in competitive fashion before Mendez took the final game, 11-8.
Stanford represented another mid-level team that Harvard has recently dominated, although the Cardinal is ranked No. 6, which would provide elite competition in just about every other sport. For the Crimson, the visitors stood as just another team to beat in order to maintain a perfect regular season.
HARVARD 9, BROWN 0
Before 2017, Harvard had faced Brown in 47 matches. The Crimson had won 47 times.
On Friday, Harvard took the short trip down Route 95 to face No. 6 Brown for a 48th time. As it turns out, nothing has changed.
The Crimson as a unit dropped just two games total in the thrashing of its conference opponent. The top two slots were won handily by British freshmen Gina Kennedy and Amelia Henley, who got bumped up in the lineup as the team faced a lesser opponent.
“We have been playing against each other since we were like ten years old,” Kennedy said. “We grew up in the same area so we were always rivals, now on the same team. We always represented England in stuff with each other, and we’re such good friends. It’s really nice to be on the same team.”
Further down the lineup Harvard was able to fight for wins, but the competition was tighter than the next day against Stanford, despite Brown’s lower ranking. Two matches went to four games, and other matches had smaller point differentials than the matches against the Cardinal. The results show that the rankings are imperfect, which is something that the Crimson must be careful about in the national championships, especially against teams Harvard has not faced.
The weekend acted as a tune-up for Nationals, giving good practice and confidence to the the Crimson squad. For the time being, there is no time to stop and reflect. The focus remains on winning a third straight collegiate squash championship.
“It wasn’t as sad as I thought it was going to be, I guess because I know I’m going to play at Nationals,” Tutrone said. “My friend was crying, but I didn’t feel it as much. I was just trying to play my best.”
—Staff writer William Quan can be reached at william.quan@thecrimson.com.