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Men's Squash Pulls Out Critical 5-4 Win At Harvard, Stays Alive For Ivy Title
February 12, 2006 | Men's Squash
Feb. 12, 2006
PRINCETON - Down 7-0 in the fifth game, Vincent Yu must have sensed that his team was on its way to a third straight heartbreak. The Princeton junior made sure it wouldn't happen, going on a 9-0 run to clinch his match at No. 5 and a critical 5-4 victory at Harvard in the team's final match before next week's team championships.
Princeton, which had lost consecutive 5-4 matches to Trinity and Yale one week earlier, played another thriller at the always challenging Murr Center. Played in a three-round format, Princeton led 2-1 after the first session on the strength of wins from No. 6 Nate Beck and No. 9 Tom McKay, both of whom won in three games. Harvard's Ilan Oren was too much for Princeton freshman Kimlee Wong, who fell in three games.
The second session provided a pair of thrillers. No. 8 Michael Gilman won his match 3-0 to give Princeton a 3-1 lead. At the same time, Harvard senior Will Broadbent, a former national finalist, was taking a 2-0 lead over Princeton freshman Mauricio Sanchez. The Tiger rookie battled back for wins of 10-8 and 9-6, but Broadbent claimed a 9-6 win in the fifth to take the match.
Yu led 2-1 at No. 5, but Harvard's Garnett Booth took the fourth game 9-5 and led 7-0 in the fifth game.
At the same time, on the third court that had already featured two 3-0 wins, Princeton senior Dent Wilkens was finishing off a 3-0 win of his own. Having claimed wins of 9-5 and 9-0 already, Wilkens closed the match 9-5 and gained Princeton's fourth win of the day. With two other matches to be played, Princeton still had a pair of ways to win the match if Yu couldn't pull out his win. The Tiger junior made both irrelevant, stopping Booth's run and then going on a 9-0 run to clinch his and the team match.
Harvard ended with the final two wins, including a win for superb Harvard junior Siddharth Suchde, who topped Yasser El Halaby in three games. El Halaby was playing his first match since his injured foot kept him out of the last three matches. Younger brother Hesham El Halaby dropped a 3-2 thriller to Jason De Lierre to end the match.
The victory was crucial for Princeton on several levels. Besides simply earning an emotional win over a strong rival and getting back on the positive side of a 5-4 decision, the Tigers kept their hopes alive for an Ivy League title. If Harvard tops Yale in New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 22, it will clinch a three-way tie for the league title.
The win should also serve Princeton well for this weekend's national team championships, which will be held at Jadwin Gym. Although team seedings won't be announced until later this week, previous results should serve as an indication of what they will be. Defending champion and undefeated Trinity will likely be a top seed, while Yale will likely be a two seed based on its win at Princeton last weekend.
The Tigers should claim the third seed over Harvard, which doesn't have a win this season over any of the top three teams.
More information on this weekend's national team championships will be posted on GoPrincetonTigers.com later in the week.
Match Results: Princeton 5, Harvard 4
1. Siddharth Suchde (H) def. Yasser El Halaby (P) 3/0 (9/1 9/1 9/0)
2. Will Broadbent (H) def. Mauricio Sanchez (P) 3/2 (9/5 9/0 8/10 6/9 9/6)
3. Ilan Oren (H) def. Kimlee Wong (P) 3/0 (9/2 9/6 9/4)
4. Jason De Lierre (H) def. Hesham El Halaby (P) 3/2 (6/9 5/9 9/1 9/0 10/8)
5. Vincent Yu (P) def. Garnett Booth (H) 2/3 (6/9 9/5 9/3 5/9 9/7)
6. Nate Beck (P) def. Chessin Gertler (H) 0/3 (10/8 9/5 9/4)
7. Dent Wilkings (P) def. Verdi DiSesa (H) 0/3 (9/5 9/0 9/5)
8. Michael Gilman (P) def. Mihir Sheth (H) (10/8 9/3 9/1)
9. Tom McKay (P) def. Todd Ostrow (H) (9/0 9/2 9/5)