Harvard Players & Alumni Compete Around The Globe

A number of current and former Harvard players have been competing nationally and internationally in the last few weeks. Here’s a recap on what’s been happening.

Haley Mendez ’15 (pictured left) finished 4th at the US Women’s Nationals at Chelsea Piers at the end of April. Mendez beat Hope Prockop ’90 in the quarterfinal before losing against the eventual winner of the tournament, Olivia Blatchford, in the semifinal. In the 3/4 playoff, Mendez pushed former world #1, Natalie Grainger, to five games but lost 2-3 in the end.

At the start of May, Ali Farag ’14 (pictured right) had an amazing run at the Grasshopper Cup (PSA $100K) in Zurich where he beat former world #1’s, Mohamed Elshorbagy and Nick Matthew, before losing in the final against Gregory Gaultier. The two of them faced off in another big tournament a couple of weeks later: Gaultier beat Farag again in the final of the Bellevue Squash Classic (PSA $150K) in Bellevue, Washington. Farag is ranked #8 in the world on the most recent PSA ranking (May).

Timmy Brownell ’20 started his summer in New York by playing the SYS Open (PSA $5K) in May. Brownell fought his way through the qualifying to the semifinals where he lost against world #165, Kush Kumar, from India in five close games.

After finishing her junior year at Harvard, Alyssa Mehta ’18 traveled to Toronto to play in the Canadian Women’s Nationals. Mehta reached the quarterfinals before losing against world #45, Danielle Letourneau, in four games.