Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard
Men's Squash Nearly Upsets 2004 Finalist Harvard, Falls 5-4
February 06, 2005 | Men's Squash
Feb. 7, 2005
PRINCETON - The Princeton men's squash team took the 2004 national finalist Harvard Crimson to the brink Sunday, but the road team drew on its experience to close out a pair of huge matches and escape with a 5-4 victory.
Harvard led 3-1 after the even matches, which included a five-game thriller at No. 8. Brendan Bascom cruised to two wins before Harvard's Todd Ostrow rallied back for wins of 9-3, 9-2 and 9-5 to claim the match. Sophomore Vincent Yu put Princeton on the scoreboard with a 3-0 win at No. 6.
The Tigers needed to win four of their final five matches to win the team match. Two wins would come handily, as both No. 1 Yasser El Halaby and No. 9 Scott Callahan won 3-0. Tom McKay won 3-1 at No. 5, but with a 3-0 loss at No. 3, it fell on the able shoulders of senior Rob Siverd at No. 7. Siverd, who came up with a critical victory as a freshman to lead Princeton to a win over Harvard and an eventual Ivy League title, took Chessin Gertler to five games, but it was Gertler with the decisive 9-5 win in the fifth game. Princeton will host Trinity next Saturday at the Jadwin Squash Courts.
Harvard 5, Princeton 4
#1 position: Jeff Blumberg, Harvard vs Yasser El Halaby, Princeton. Princeton won with scores of 9-4, 9-2, 9-3.
#2 position: Ilan Oren, Harvard vs Robert Hong, Princeton. Harvard won with scores of 9-6, 9-7, 9-7.
#3 position: Jason Delierre, Harvard vs Michael Gilman, Princeton. Harvard won with scores of 10-9, 9-1, 9-5.
#4 position: Asher Hochberg, Harvard vs Preston Comey, Princeton. Harvard won with scores of 9-2, 9-3, 9-5.
#5 position: Garnet Booth, Harvard vs Tom McKay, Princeton. Princeton won with scores of 2-9, 9-1, 9-0 ,9-7.
#6 position: Mihir Seth, Harvard vs Vincent Yu, Princeton. Princeton won with scores of 9-3, 9-2, 9-3.
#7 position: Chessin Gertler, Harvard vs Rob Siverd, Princeton. Harvard won with scores of 9-6, 3-9, 4-9, 9-6, 9-5.
#8 position: Todd Ostrow, Harvard vs Brendon Bascom, Princeton. Harvard won with scores of 1-9, 2-9, 9-3, 9-2, 9-5.
#9 position: Ryan Abraham, Harvard vs Scott Callahan, Princeton. Princeton won with scores of 9-0, 9-7, 9-7.
#10 position: V. Goela, Harvardvs Hop Wells, Princeton. Harvard won with scores of 1-9, 9-6, 9-5, 1-9, 9-5.