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Princeton University Athletics
Harvard Outlasts Princeton In Men's Squash Marathon
February 11, 2001 | Men's Squash
Feb. 11, 2001
If you thought Princeton and Harvard couldn't top last year's epic men's squash match, think again.
The sequel may have been better in every way, except, for Princeton fans at least, the outcome.
Harvard used a 17-15 win in the fifth game at No. 3 by Shondip Ghosh over Danny Rutherford to pull out the deciding point and win 5-4. Harvard can now clinch the Ivy League title with a win next week over Yale, a Yale win in that match would leave a three-way tie for the championship between Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
Harvard's victory avenged last year's 5-4 defeat at the hands of Princeton that gave the Tigers the Ivy title and ended Harvard's 10-year run.
"The match was one of the great sporting events I have ever seen or been a part of," said Princeton coach Bob Callahan. "It was great drama, great sport, and I couldn't be prouder of the whole team."
The teams split the first four matches, with David Yik at No. 2 and Will Osnato at No. 8 giving Princeton wins.
That left the outcome up to the last five matches, with each team in need of three wins. team had to win three of the remaining five matches to win the Ivy League title. Eric Pearson and No. 5 and Will Evans at No. 1 gave Princeton wins, but Harvard won at No. 7 and No. 9, leaving the outcome up to the Rutherford-Shondip match.
Rutherford fell behind 10-5 and 12-8 in the fifth game before making his run. After 10 points of superb squash, every point decided by a winner, it reached 15-15 in the fifth before Shondip closed it out at 17-15.
"As we met in my office after the match, I told the team I couldn't be more proud of the way they competed," Callahan said. "It was one of the most exciting matches in collegiate squash history."