Dartmouth Edges Princeton 5-4

Saturday, February 24

Hartford, Conn.

11:00 AM

Princeton University

Dartmouth (CSA Consolation Round)

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

February 24, 2018 | Men's Squash

For the second time this season, the Dartmouth and Princeton men's squash teams battled down to the final game of the ninth match in a thrilling showdown between two of the sport's top programs. Unfortunately for the Tigers, who returned to the A flight of the national championships for the first time since 2013, both of those matches went the way of the Big Green.

The eighth-seeded Tigers rallied midway through the match to grab a 4-3 lead over the fifth-seeded Big Green, but Dartmouth finished with 3-0 wins at both #4 and #7 to clinch the win and earn the right to play for fifth place Sunday.

Freshman Cole Becker gave Princeton its first point of the day with a 3-0 win at the #3 spot. Three weeks after he went the distance to defeat Matthew Giegerich, Becker was able to grab control early and finish the match with a 13-11 win.

Dartmouth got a win at #6 to even the score, and Princeton senior co-captain Komron Shayegan did all he could to grab a 2-1 lead. He fell 3-0 in the regular season, but he forced a fifth game Saturday before ultimately falling 3-2 at the #9 spot.

The Big Green moved to 3-1 with a win at #2, but junior Cody Cortes used a gritty effort to begin a Princeton comeback. Already down 1-0, Cortes trailed deep into the second before rallying for a 13-11 win. He added two more two-point victories to grab the win and get the Tigers back within one match.

Freshman Alex Engstrom saw a big lead evaporate during the regular season match with Dartmouth, but he came back in style in Hartford. After racing out to a 2-0 lead over James Bell at the #8 spot, he made sure there would be no comeback; his 11-7 victory clinched the match and drew Princeton even entering the final shift.

Ivy League Rookie of the Year Youssef Ibrahim bounced back from a slow start to take out Alvin Heumann at the #1 spot, but the final two matches would belong to Dartmouth. Jack Harvey topped Tiger co-captain Abhimanyu Shah in three close games at #7, and Toby Harding clinched the win with another tight three-game victory over Clark Doyle at the #4 spot.

Princeton will play for seventh place Sunday at 11 am against Ivy rival Penn; the Tigers won a 5-4 thriller over the Quakers in Philadelphia earlier this season.

DARTMOUTH 5, PRINCETON 4
1 – Youssef Ibrahim (P) d. Alvin Heumann (7), 8, 9, 5
2 – Carson Spahr (D) d. Adhitya Raghavan 9, 6, 5
3 – Cole Becker (P) d. Matthew Giegerich 7, 6, 11
4 – Toby Harding (D) d. Clark Doyle 8, 10, 9
5 – Cody Cortes (P) d. Brandon De Otaduy (10), 11, 12, 9
6 – Samuel Epley (D) d. Duncan Joyce 11, 8, 5
7 – Jack Harvey (D) d. Abhimanyu Shah 7, 7, 8
8 – Alex Engstrom (P) d. James Bell 9, 7, 7
9 – Brian Giegerich (D) d. Komron Shayegan 10, (6), (7), 9, 5