This weekend Harvard’s squash teams will face Princeton on Saturday and Penn on Sunday at the Murr Center.

Both of the women’s matches are expected to be very close: In 2013, Princeton was able to squeeze by during the regular season with a 5-4 win but The Crimson eventually won the national title. At this year’s IVY Scrimmages Princeton beat Harvard 5-4. Also, the Penn women are looking particularly strong this year after some talented recruits have joined their squad. All three teams are contenders for both the IVY- and national titles this season.

The men will have to play well too as The Crimson split the IVY title with The Tigers last year. At this year’s Scrimmages, Princeton fell against Yale in the semis while Harvard beat The Bulldogs in the final. The Princeton match is expected to be the toughest match so far this season for the men’s team.  Penn’s men’s team is always strong and will challenge The Crimson at every position of the ladder.

We hope to see you during the weekend! If you can’t make it, look out for updates both on www.gocrimson.com and on the blog www.harvardsquash.blogspot.com.

Go Crimson!

In early December we had a solid week of improvement for our men’s team. On Tues, Dec. 3, the Dartmouth Men and Women gave us a real challenge in Hanover. We made it safely through the match on the score sheet, though the performances on the men’s side were not what we had hoped for.The men didn’t play their most consistent squash and we came away knowing that we had a few things to work on.

The following Friday, we had a solid win against Drexel. The Dragons are climbing the ranks quickly. Earlier this year they defeated Williams for the first time on both the men’s and women’s sides. After the Drexel match, our JV “Jacked Varsity” men and women had a strong win as well, blanking Boston College. It was great to see the guys and girls lower down the order get some competitive experience and step up to the challenge. There is always a bit of pressure when they know the match that counts towards our team record.

Saturday, we faced Western Ontario. Mike and Beth hosted their fellow Canadians at their house the night before the match. Albert Shoihet, Beth’s son, is the number one player and team captain for the Mustangs. We saw a completely different Harvard men’s team on Saturday than we had at Dartmouth. The men were far more consistent and focused. The coaches were very proud of their performance. Ali, Gary and Nigel had some standout performances.

Women’s December Wrap-Up by Co-Captain Natasha Anzik

We had a very exciting past week in squash competition, kicking off the season with some well-played matches. For our opening Ivy match against Dartmouth on December 3, seven out of our nine players swept with 3-0 victories. There were strong performances by all of the freshmen, and a very positive atmosphere. Freshmen Caroline Monrad, Dileas MacGowan and Katie Tutrone got their first official wins at the 10, 7 and 4 positions, respectively.

These matches were followed by a quick turnaround as both teams played Drexel and Boston College on Friday. Both teams won 9-0 and were a great opportunity for everyone to get more competitive match play.

All in all, it was a solid week for both teams, and gave everyone an opportunity to take away some things to work on in preparation for January. Now as we are all entering exams, the focus is increasing our fitness and making adjustments over the break.

Come cheer us on at Williams on Jan. 7 and at home against Princeton Sat, Jan 11 and Penn Sun, Jan 12!

Final Match Results:

Harvard Women vs Dartmouth Women

Win 9-0

No. 1 Amanda Sobhy defeated Jacqueline Barnes (11-6, 11-5, 11-4)
No. 2 Haley Mendez defeated Nina Scott (11-0, 11-2, 11-3)
No. 3 Saumya Karki defeated Melina Turk (11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6)
No. 4 Katie Tutrone defeated Katherine Nimmo (11-8, 11-8, 11-3)
No. 5 Michelle Gemmell defeated Helena Darling (11-6, 11-5, 11-7)
No. 6 Julianne Chu defeated Lydie McKenzie (11-5, 11-8, 11-3)
No. 7 Dileas MacGowan defeated Oona Morris (5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-2)
No. 8 Isabelle Dowling defeated Sarah Caughey (11-2, 11-2, 11-6)
No. 9 Megan Murray defeated Victoria Dewey (9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6)
No. 10 Caroline Monrad defeated Marian S. Lurio (11-7, 14-12, 11-6)

Harvard Men vs Dartmouth Me

Win 9-0

No. 1 Ali Farag defeated Alexander Greer (11-4, 11-3, 11-7)
No. 2 Brandon McLaughlin defeated Nicholas Harrington (11-9, 11-5, 11-6)
No. 3 Gary Power defeated Christopher Jung (11-5, 11-6, 11-4)
No. 4 Dylan Murray defeated Kyle Martino(11-7, 11-7, 11-7)
No. 5 Nigel Koh defeated Michael Mistras (7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9)
No. 6 Bryan Koh defeated James Fisch (11-2, 11-6, 11-6)
No. 7 Nicholas Hopcroft defeated Fletcher Pease (11-9, 11-9, 11-6)
No. 8 Tyler Olson defeated Bayard Kuensell (8-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-2)
No. 9 Tom Mullaney defeated Mark Funk (11-2, 11-6, 11-5)
No. 10 Glen Brickman defeated Samuel Goldberg (9-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7)

Harvard Women vs. Drexel

Win 9-0

No. 1 Amanda Sobhy defeated Udangawa Damindhi (11-1, 11-1, 11-1)
No. 2 Haley Mendez defeated Mary Fung-A-Fat (11-3, 11-2, 11-3)
No. 3 Saumya Karki defeated Elizabeth Money (11-5, 11-3, 11-6)
No. 4 Katie Tutrone defeated Maria Diagama (11-2, 11-0, 11-3)
No. 5 Michelle Gemmell defeated Laura Rahauser (11-4, 11-1, 11-2)
No. 6 Julianne Chu defeated Kaitlyn Money (11-6, 11-2, 11-5)
No. 7 Dileas MacGowan defeated Kiran Vasudevan (11-3, 11-2, 11-3)
No. 8 Isabelle Dowling defeated Disha Tharyamal (11-0, 11-3, 11-0)
No. 9 Megan Murray defeated Davila Thompson (11-0, 11-3, 11-0)
No. 10 Caroline Monrad defeated Courtney Sabo (11-2, 11-7, 11-3)

Harvard Women vs. Boston College

Win 9-0

No. 1 Dileas MacGowan defeated Lilly Havens (11-9, 11-5, 11-2)
No. 2 Isabelle Dowling defeated Cassandrew Burke (11-3, 11-4, 11-5)
No. 3 Megan Murray defeated Caroline Whelan (11-2, 11-5, 11-8)
No. 4 Caroline Monrad defeated Madeline Bette (11-2, 11-4, 11-5)
No. 5 Emily Jones defeated Alexis Ditomassi (11-2, 11-8, 11-3)
No. 6 Keegan Mendez defeated Mary Aidan Hanrahan (11-7, 11-2, 11-0)
No. 7 Alexandra Sperry defeated Caroline Kulig (11-3, 11-4, 11-2)
No. 8 Georgiana Brinkley defeated Katherine Neuberger (11-0, 11-1,
No. 9 Julie Monrad defeated Allie Goguen (11-3, 11-3, 11-2)

Harvard Men vs. Drexel

Win 9-0

Ali Farag defeated Ibrahim Bakir (11-2, 11-5, 11-4)
Brandon McLaughliin defeated Justin Singh (11-5, 11-9, 11-1)
Gary Powers defeated Michael Thompson (11-8, 11-8, 11-9)
Dylan Murray defeated Mark Lindsay (11-7, 11-4, 11-4)
Nigel Koh defeated Sebastian Dangond (11-3, 11-5, 11-3)
Bryan Koh defeated Noel Solomon (11-4, 11-4, 11-4)
Nicholas Hopcroft defeated Joseph Gingold (11-3, 11-3, 11-4)
Tyler Olson defeated Ben Bevan (11-7, 11-2, 11-9)
Tom Mullaney defeated Nathaniel Fry (11-4, 11-1, 11-2)
Matt Roberts defeated Harshil Dokania (11-2, 11-7, 11-3)

Harvard Men vs. Boston College

Win 9-0

Michas Gordon defeated Milo Watanabe (11-3, 11-5, 11-7)
Walker Evans defeated Sam Henderson (11-4, 11-1, 11-9)
Sam Sokolski-Tifft defeated Joshua Ko (11-6, 11-7, 11-7)
James Watkins defeated Nicholas Gadsden (11-7, 11-4, 11-3)
Peter Janulis defeated Ted Glick (11-8, 14-12, 11-3)
Jake Matthews defeated Robert Bohn (11-2, 11-3, 11-2)
Evan Hahn defeated Colton Hardman (11-3, 11-2, 11-3)
Will Mendez defeated Andrew Labadini (11-8, 11-1, 12-10)
Nikhil Mehra defeated Christopher Tozzi (11-4, 11-2, 11-8)
Evan Brown defeated Elliott O’Brien (11-8, 11-4, 11-6)

Harvard Men vs. Western Ontario

Win 9-0

Ali Farag defeated Albert Shoihet (11-3, 11-3, 11-6)
Gary Power defeated James Van Staveren (12-10, 17-15, 6-11, 11-8)
Dylan Murray defeated Adrian Ostbye (11-6, 11-5, 11-6)
Nigel Koh defeated Adam Engel (11-5, 11-6, 11-7)
Bryan Koh defeated Kale Wilson (11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10)
Nicholas Hopcroft defeated Devin Hinchey (11-5, 11-8, 11-6)
Tyler Olson defeated Nick Guest (11-3, 15-13, 11-7)
Tom Mullaney defeated Cory Shannon (11-9, 11-6, 11-4)
Matt Roberts defeated Matthew Sharpe (11-6, 11-2, 11-3)

Sam Goldberg defeated Krishan Rana (6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6)

Also, our big congratulations to Tim Wyant ’00, for being named Ex-Officio Board Member to US Squash. He already serves concurrently as the Executive Director of CitySquash and the National Urban Squash and Education Association.

http://www.ussquash.com/wyant-named-ex-officio-member-of-us-squash-board-of-directors/

Check out the New Admissions Video-

Alumni are raving: “Can I go back to college!?”

IVY Scrimmages

The IVY Scrimmage was a great opportunity to see our guys and girls perform under match conditions. It’s especially exciting for the freshman to test themselves against college competitors for the first time with weight of the team score on their shoulders.

Saturday

In the first round, we drew the Brown Men and Columbia Women. Despite the gap in ability, both opponents gave us a fight and made sure our guys and girls had to earn their victories.

At 5:30, the men drew Cornell and the women, Yale.

The men beat Cornell 8-1. On a per-man basis however, the matches were much more difficult than the scoreline would indicate. Brandon McLaughlin sustained an injury to his toe after sliding it into a glass wall during his match against Aditya Jagtap. He tried to continue, but was unable to lunge and had to retire.

Freshman Bryan Koh (Nigel’s younger brother) won a hard-fought four gamer win over Rishi Jalan of Cornell. Rishi has a hard hitting style and smoked at least a dozen winners from all sorts of positions. It was a very chippy match; full of physical play and chitchat with the referee. Bryan did an excellent job staying calm and focused.

On the women’s side, Yale took three of the first four matches. We came back to tie at 3-3 with great wins by Michelle Gemmell, Izzy Dowling and Katie Tutrone. Sobhy brought us to 4-3 with a win over Millie Tomlinson, the former National Individual Champion who was playing some of the best squash we have seen from her. Yale tied 4-4 with Kim Hay shooting the lights out over Haley Mendez.

It was down to Dileas MacGowan, our freshman from Toronto at number seven, who found herself playing for a deciding match. She pulled out a tactical and gutsy 3-1 win over Gwen Tighlman.

Freshman Caroline Monrad (cousin of junior Julie Monrad) got some good experience at the number ten spot and will look to work her way onto the top nine throughout the season.

Sunday

Both the men and women made it to the finals against Yale and Princeton, respectively. Both were rematches of the last year’s battles to decide the IVY Title.

The women fought hard but fell to the Tigers 5-4. Highlights included Katie Tutrone taking down the hard-running canadian Nicole Bunyan at the three position and Saumya Karki’s hard-fought win over Rachel Leizman in five.

“Haley and I are really proud of everyone’s effort this weekend. The freshmen have done a great job.” Said Co-Captain Natasha Anzik.

The men faced a Yale team that was weakened by injuries. Dylan Murray’s length was a bit too loose against Neil Martin and he was forced to do the lions’ share of the running. He fell to the Irishman in four games.

Brandon McLaughlin was able to subdue the rangy Malaysian freshman Kah Wah Cheong in three games.

It was great to have the support of Brandon’s brother, freshman Devin McLaughlin, who came down from Cambridge to cheer us on. He has been recovering quickly from surgery on a bone in his ankle and we are happy to hear that he is off of crutches!

We were very pleased with how our freshman performed in their introduction to college squash. While we found areas where everyone can improve, they showed guts and resiliency overall.

We owe a big thanks to to the men’s and women’s parents for providing a wonderful dinner on Saturday night and (heathy!) sandwiches and drinks throughout the weekend.

Finals

H Women vs. Princeton L (5-4)

Amanda Sobhy            3-0          Maria Elena Ubina 3-0

Haley Mendez                1-3          Libby Eyre

Katie Tutrone               3-2          Nicole Bunyan

Saumya Karki              3-2           Rachel Leizman

Michelle Gemmell      3-0            Alex Lunt

Julianne Chu                 2-3            Hallie Dewey

Dileas MacGowan        1-3            Lexi Saunders

Izzy Dowling                   0-3            Alex Sawin

Megan Murray               1-3             Tara Harrington

Caroline Monrad          0-3             Alex Toth

Finals
H Men vs. Yale W (6-3)

Brandon McLaughlin          3-0               Kah Wah Cheong

Gary Power                               1-3               T.J. Dembinsky

Dylan Murray                            1-3              Neil Martin

Nigel Koh                                    2-3             Zak Lehman

Bryan Koh                                 3-1             Sam Fenwick

Tyler Olson                               3-2            Charlie Wyatt

Nick Hopcroft                          3-0            Joey Roberts

Tommy Mullaney                   3-0            Pelaj Bajwa

Sam Goldberg                          3-1            Huw Robinson

Halloween Photos

Two colorful characters at practice: Caroline Monrad (in Pink) and Dileas MacGoward. Julianne Chu in the background!

IVY Scrimmages At Yale This Weekend

As the Ivy Scrimmages weekend approaches, the men’s and women’s teams are getting more and more excited for a shot at the competition. Matches on Saturday are at 12:30 and 5:30 for both men and women. The draws are as follows:

Each team is bringing down 11 players, and is excited to show off the skills of some of our freshmen!

Women’s Team Runs Rugged Maniac

Contributed by HWS Co-Captain Natasha Anzik

The weekend of September 28^thstarted bright and early. The women’s squash team, who had only discovered the plans for our bonding weekend 48 hours earlier, still didn’t know what they were getting themselves into as we all waited for a bus on Mount Auburn. Haley and I had been planning and looking forward to this day for months, also keeping it a secret as long as we could, so there had been a lot of anticipation as the rest of the team found out and got as excited as we were. So we all hopped on a bus to Southwick, MA at 8am to compete in our first ever “Rugged Manic” race. The race was a 5km obstacle race, filled with walls to climb over, wires to climb under and a giant waterslide—basically a shorter version of a Tough Mudder. Dressed in matching camouflage shirts we ran as a team—helping each other through the obstacles and cheering each other on—as well as receiving cheers from many others along the way! It was a great way for our team to get off campus, get a little dirty and have a lot of fun. The weather could not have cooperated better, and after the race we all sat out on the grass for a picnic.

After taking many team photos and enjoying the sun, we all piled into vans and headed to Rhode Island to spend the night at Megan Murray’s home. Eating pizza, watching movies and hanging out as a team was a great end to a great day! We headed back to campus the next morning. The weekend was an awesome chance to get the whole team together in a relaxed setting—it was definitely a highlight of my year!

There are photos posted on the Rugged Maniac website of our team at: http://www.ruggedmaniac.com/new-england-2013-saturday.html

There is also an article posted on the gocrimson website HERE

John “Jay” Nelson ’62 Inducted into US Squash Hall of Fame

We were thrilled to see the announcement at the US Open that “Jay” Nelson ’62 was inducted to the US Hall of Fame. He has been a stalwart of the Harvard Squash community and is the most successful American masters player ever. We could not be more happy for him. Congrats Jay, and well deserved!

Check out the announcement from US Squash Here

Excerpt from US squash.org below.

Jay Nelson is the top masters player in U.S. Squash history with twenty-eight age-group titles, one better than previous record holder Henri Salaun. Nelson played at Andover and at Harvard (class of 1962) before moving to New York. Known for his three-wall and conditioning, he reached four semifinals of the U.S. nationals (losing in five games three of those times) and won three Metropolitan Open titles—the last at age forty-seven in a season when he also won the Met A, 35+ and 45+. In hardball, Nelson won the U.S. national 45+ in 1989 and 1990 and the 50+ in 1993 and 1995. Always an avid softball player—in 1973 Nelson played on the first U.S. national team to enter the world men’s championships—he won the national 40+ softball in 1984 and 1985; the 45+ in 1987 and 1988; the 50+ from 1992 through 1996; the 55+ from 1997 through 2001; the 60+ in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006; the 65+ in 2007 through 2011; and the 70+ in 2012. Nelson was awarded NYSquash’s Eddie Standing Trophy in 1974 (for exceptional sportsmanship), the Herbert Fischbach Trophy in 1989 (for winning his last Metropolitan Open), the President’s Prize in 1972 and 1974 (for highest winning percentage in league play) and the Bigelow Cup in 1977 (for outstanding performance).

Below is an excerpt from the BEST Friends Issue #1 Alumni Profiles.

John G. (Jay) Nelson ‘62

Baseball was actually my favorite sport growing up in Saugus, Mass. in post-WWll America, but once I was introduced to squash at Andover at age 16, I was hooked. I was lucky enough to be coached at Harvard by Corey Wynn and the legendary Jack Barnaby from 1959-1962. Not only did they shape my emerging game to suit my strengths and weaknesses, but they also fostered in me, as in so many others, an awareness that squash was a worthwhile lifetime activity in the context of a balanced life, and, specifically, as they presented it, an opportunity to nurture one’s competitive spirit, sense of fair play, fitness, and appreciation of camaraderie. In addition to those coaches, I also benefited from playing with many, many gifted and committed (and competitive!) teammates on the Harvard teams of 1960, 1961 and 1962. The highest ladder position I was able to attain was #5. And speaking of Harvard players, doesn’t it make us all proud that Harvard squash grads–starting with George Polsky and Tim Wyant — figure so prominently in the urban squash outreach world!

Upon graduation I enlisted in the Army for 3 years, worked 2 years as a computer programmer (in the 60’s, I shoulda’ been Gates!), and then spent 2 years at HBS. I then worked for 29 years as a securities analyst on Wall Street, retiring in 1998. With just one break of 2 years I’ve been playing squash regularly since 1969, primarily at the Harvard Club of NYC–and what a staff there is there, led formerly by the late Milt Russ and now by pro Richard Chin!– where I’m a member but also, more in the past, at many other clubs around the city. My extended family–especially my sister, Betsy, and my 2 daughters, Steffie and Jenny, have always been very supportive of my squash-playing, never a discouraging word. I am well aware that it could have been otherwise, which would have made a substantial, limiting difference. I think, too, that my grandfather Billie Gillespie having played 8 years around the turn of the last(!) century for the Manchester City soccer team–I’ve heard they’re doing pretty well these days– was a kind of spur to me in sports.

My life has been much enriched by the Harvard Squash experience. My national age-group titles (28 National Singles titles, 23 softball, including the last 19 in a row allowing for one year I didn’t play because I had the flu, as well as 5 hardball) are of course great, a source of some recognition for me and, I hope, Harvard within the squash community. But, let me tell you, at 70, playing a competitive match at the Harvard Club of New York at lunchtime with one of my squash pals on a weekday, or even working alone on a court afterwards for 10 minutes on–will I ever succeed?– better disguising my forehand drop shot, it sometimes strikes me with full force: this has got to be the best sport there is!

Hameed Ahmed Joins Coaching Staff

From Gocrimson.com-

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Hameed Ahmed will join the Harvard squash coaching staff as an assistant coach. Ahmed comes to Harvard after spending the previous two seasons at his alma mater, the University of Rochester, as an assistant coach. During his time at Rochester he made a big impact on the squash program, coaching six athletes that earned All-America honors, 10 athletes that were named All-Liberty League and one athlete that was tabbed as Liberty League Player of the Year. Ahmed saw his team win back-to-back league titles and land the No. 5 spot in the national rankings for two consecutive seasons.

During his collegiate career at Rochester, Ahmed was a three time All-America selection and served as team captain for three seasons. The squad moved from the No. 16 spot in the nation to as high as No. 2 during the 2009-10 campaign. Ahmed has also played for the Finnish National Team at six European Team Championships and three World Team Championships. He has won seven Finnish Junior Championships as well as three European Junior Grand Prix titles.

Ahmed earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 2011. He was one of Finland’s 2007 Fulbright Undergraduates who received a scholarship to pursue undergraduate studies in the United States. Ahmed also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Rochester’s Simon School of Business.

Letterwinners Dinner

There were two ladies from the squash team nominated for prizes at the senior Letterwinners’ Dinner last week. Before each winner was announced, the presenters spoke about each of the nominee’s accomplishments as our seniors and their families braced in suspense. It was exhilarating for all the players and families when Laura Gemmell was announced as the winner of the Radcliffe Prize and Sarah Mumanachitt announced for the Arthur C. Boland Prize. Both have been outstanding players, teammates, and members of the Harvard community as a whole. Mike, Reggie and I couldn’t be more proud of them for going above and beyond as Harvard student-athletes.

Here are excerpts from the press release on gocrimson:

Laura Gemmell of the women’s squash team garnered the Radcliffe Prize as Harvard’s outstanding female athlete. Gemmell was a dominant force on the squash courts during her four years in Cambridge. The Toronto native burst onto the scene as a freshman, going a perfect 16-0 to win the CSA Individual National Championship and earn Ivy League Rookie and Player of the Year honors. The Crimson also went undefeated that season, finishing 12-0 to claim the national title and Ramsay Cup for the first time since 2000-01. The program’s resurgence continued as the squad went 45-3 over the past four seasons with three team national championships and two Ivy League titles. Individually, Gemmell was a four-time CSA first team All-American and All-Ivy selection, a three-time Academic All-Ivy recipient and a two-time Ancient Eight Player of the Year.

Women’s squash co-captain Sarah Mumanachit earned the Arthur L. Boland prize, given annually to a senior attending medical school who also best exemplifies the characteristics and qualities of the award’s namesake. While compiling a career record of 47-8 and helping the Crimson win three national championships and two Ivy League titles, the neurobiology concentrator also spent time researching in the Boston Children’s Hospital Lab of Cognitive Science and shadowing medical workers in Thailand after receiving the David Rockefeller International Experience Grant.

Check out the full article here.

(L to R) Sarah Mumanachit, Jason Michas, Alex Ma, Laura Gemmell, Shaw McKean, Natasha Kingshott

Natasha with her parents, Sonia and Adrian Kingshott

The award winners, including Laura Gemmell (bottom row, 2nd from end on right) and Sarah Mumanachit (middle row, right)

Commencement

At 5:30 am on Commencement Day, the students were roused from their beds by blaring bagpipes outside their windows. It was just the start of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the distribution of diplomas. It was a long, hot day of fanfare and speeches and many of the students baked under black gowns. After the morning exercises, they received their diplomas to the applause and cheers of classmates and family. With the team spread across campus at their respective houses, Mike, Reggie and I split up and tried to watch as many ceremonies as we could. Mike even set out by bike to try to make every single one!

It was a bittersweet occasion. When asked how they felt, all the new graduates had similar responses: “excited but it feels strange to be finished.” Mike, Reg and I have had a wonderful time coaching these young men and women. We know that we’ll be bragging (and as always, taking some retroactive credit) about all their impressive accomplishments in the years to come.

The Harvard Squash Class of 2013:

Women:

Eliza Calihan, Laura Gemmell, Natasha Kingshott, Sarah Mumanachit

Men:

Charlie Cabot, Alex Ma, Shaw McKean, Jason Michas, Zeke Scherl

Traveling in style

Mike Way (far R), Jason Michas, and the Michas Family

Eliza “The Calinator” Calihan (center) and her sisters

(L to R) Charlie Cabot, Asst. Coach Luke Hammond, Zeke Scherl

(L to R) Roommates: Shaw McKean, Scott Prozeller (soccer capt.), Jason Michas

CSA Scholar Athletes

Six men and five women from the Harvard team have been named CSA Scholar Athletes.

Men’s Team Scholar Athletes:

Shaw McKean, Charlie Cabot, Jason Michas, Gary Power, Brandon McLaughlin and Tommy Mullaney

Women’s Team Scholar Athletes:

Georgianna Brinkley, Laura Gemmell, Natasha Kingshott, Eliza Calihan and Natasha Anzik

Way to go guys!

Here are the releases for the men and women.

Gary Power’s Heroics Profiled in The Crimson

This is a great article on Gary’s epic tie-breaker in the national semi-finals. It was a battle that will be talked about for years to come.

From the Harvard Crimson:

Individual Performance of the Year, Runner-Up: Gary Power, Men’s Squash

By DAVID FREED

For two sets, junior Gary Power didn’t have enough.

With the Harvard men’s squash team tied with the Princeton Tigers, 4-4, in the national semifinals, Power was the team’s final hope. Four players who had lost to the Tigers in the previous matchup, a 5-4 defeat on Jan. 13, had scored victories on the day. Then junior Ali Farag—who had never lost in his collegiate career—fell in three sets. The four Crimson players who had scored victories against their Tigers opponents a month earlier in Cambridge had fallen one by one. A spot in the national championship, which had eluded Harvard in 2012, was on the line; a rematch with Trinity awaited the winner.

“Farag had taken a big loss and our captain was out with an injury, and at the time we were not looking good at all,” Crimson coach Mike Way said.

Harvard’s No. 1 player before Farag joined the team, Power had since dropped in the team rankings. Playing the fourth line for the team, he had posted a dominating 11-3 record on the season. But against Princeton’s Dylan Ward, Power was in trouble. After dropping the first set, 6-11, he could not close a tight second set, 10-12, and entered the third with his back against the wall. All eight other matches had been settled in four sets or fewer; no player had dropped the first two sets and even managed to claim the third.

At this point, Way said he turned to an assistant coach and murmured that Power just needed the third set. For the player whom Way calls “the fittest guy in college squash,” the opening didn’t need to be large. Given an inch, Power would take a mile.

And, against the odds, Power fought back and took the third set, 11-7. He pushed the match to a fifth set by the same score in the fourth, sending Ward reeling. In the fifth, Power scored a third consecutive 11-7 victory to push the Crimson into the finals.

“There’s nobody more determined,” Way said. “If you put determination in a beast like that, you’re going to get something quite awesome.”

Although the team fell in the finals, 6-3, to Trinity, Way said that Power’s play will not be forgotten.

“I’ve only been here three seasons but that was the biggest moment I’ve ever seen,” Way said afterward. “For him to come out and do what he did was absolutely heroic.”

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at davidfreed@college.harvard.edu.

See the original article here.

Peter Briggs: An Untarnished Legend

Article and images courtesy of

The Rye Record

by Tom McDermott

If squash and tennis coaches wore numbers on their warmup jackets, Peter Briggs’ might read 25, for the number of years he has taught at Apawamis Club’s courts. Then again, Briggs might want 108 on his back, signifying the number of college and high school team captains his squash program has produced, a number representing his own measure of achievement in his chosen profession.

The Greenwich native entered Harvard in 1969 after Middlesex, where he had excelled at soccer, tennis, and squash, a game he first picked up under Lester Cummings at the Field Club on days when tennis was rained out. That was a pivotal year for Briggs and the entire country, as campuses erupted in protests, first about Vietnam, and then, seemingly about everything else related to the establishment.

Briggs believes that practicing under his Harvard coach Jack Barnaby for three hours each day anchored him amidst the protests and major league partying. His collegiate career would culminate in three undefeated Ivy League team championships and two individual intercollegiate titles. Barnaby, who spent 60 years at Harvard, made a lasting impression on Briggs, not only as a good coach, but as a superb teacher and advisor, who told his teams, “The number nine match is just as important as the number one match; it’s one point for the team.”

The star pupil did not forget the lesson. In fact, the admittedly cocky young lefthander thought at the time, “If I ever have a chance to be able to give back what Coach Barnaby gave me, as a person and player, I will seize the opportunity.”

Briggs left Harvard with a degree in Classics, then set off on a Homeric tour, playing squash on money he’d earned working summers. He won the National Singles and Doubles titles in 1976, and started a sports apparel company, Boast, with partners.

Then, Briggs became a trader and, fairly quickly, head of the mortgage desk at Kidder, Peabody & Co. He married, lived the good life for several years, then divorced amicably. He tried an even bigger job at Merrill, Lynch, but his heart was no longer in it. After ten years on Wall Street, he felt adrift. One day he just walked away from it all.

Looking back at the period, the U.S. Squash Hall of Famer and perhaps the best left-wall doubles player ever, says he felt a sense of failure perhaps for the first time in his life.

Briggs talked things over with his dad, whom he considered his best friend. Both of his parents were English, and James Briggs was in the Royal Navy in World War II, when his ship, H.M.S. Harvester was torpedoed. He survived hours in the cold Atlantic and knew something about adversity. He had long been a steadying influence on his son, and this time was no different.

Briggs took time to travel, continued playing squash, and reflected. In 1984, the opportunity that Briggs had wondered about years before presented itself. Cornell University had an opening for a head squash coach. Briggs seized it, and began his apprentice-ship as a teacher and coach.

At Cornell, fortune continued to smile, and he soon met his wife, Di. The couple now reside in Pound Ridge with their sons, Cooper and Petey, and daughter Wellyn. Briggs spent four years honing his skills at Cornell. By 1988, he and Di began to feel that there was a life beyond academia and he heard that Apawamis was looking for a new pro. The club, which in those days had two igloo-like hardball singles and one doubles court, wanted Briggs.

Today, the teacher and coach looks out from his glass-enclosed shop upon a squash realm that is known throughout the country for its superior brand of junior squash. There are now six international singles courts and two doubles courts, and Apawamis remains a favorite tournament venue for top pros and the best area amateur players, many of whom starred for their college teams.

“I’m in the business of building self-esteem,” Briggs says. “I’m a teacher, who uses squash (or tennis) as a vehicle to give back what I was given.” Part of that giving back extends to his commitment to City Squash and other developmental programs.

What’s the biggest challenge? He’s diplomatic about a problem poking its head up in a hyper-competitive environment for young players, in which squash has become an admission ticket to the best schools, and a possible leg up in the quest for business success. There’s a lot of pressure on kids, who can sometimes forget they’re playing a game and it should be fun.

To anchor players of all ages, the Briggs Rules are posted courtside, one of which states in part, “Long after the silver trophy tarnishes, your reputation is all that is left.

Asked why he has stayed at Apawamis despite other opportunities, Briggs doesn’t hesitate, “It’s the people. The club members have treated me with respect and I respect them.”

Briggs’ cup shows no tarnish.

THE FIVE GOLDEN RULES OF COMPETITIVE SQUASH

Respect your opponent and give them the honor of trying as hard as you can every point.

Never take a point that your opponent doesn’t feel you deserve.

Always conduct yourself with your opponent as if you were having an interview for a job after the match.

Look the part and dress and have the body language of a champion.

Remember you are playing for your school first and then yourself. Long after the silver trophy tarnishes, your reputation is all that is left!

We’re fortunate to have a few Squash Aumni contribute their stories about life since Harvard and the impact that their squash experience had on them:

Ben Heckscher – 1957

One has to go back over 50 years to discuss my squash career. I attended the Choate School from 1950-1953 and they just happened to have 17 squash courts. While winning two national interscholastic championships my junior and senior years, I received a four page hand written letter from Jack Barnaby telling me all the advantages of coming to Harvard. I couldn’t believe I was being recruited, and in longhand no less. At that time, I had applied to Amherst and was ready to go. They had no chance once Jack contacted me. I even was accepted early at Harvard as Amherst needed an answer when early admissions did not exist. I did not know this at the time but coming to Harvard and being coached by Jack Barnaby and Corey Wynn set up my whole life. Having such great coaches was also the main reason for my achievements in squash. In those days Harvard had two teams in the Boston A League and our top 10 players got invaluable experience playing against many older players who were tough as nails… as well as Henri Salaun. I managed to win two National Intercollegiate titles as well as being the first college player to play in the U.S. Open in 1956. Of course, I lost to Azam Khan in the first round.

After graduation in 1957, I went into the Army for two years. They asked what squash was when I asked for time off to play tournaments. Once they understood I would represent the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant, they let me play. I not only won my first U.S. nationals at Hemingway but I met my future wife in Montreal. That period between 1958 and 1963 when I won my second nationals in Detroit featured many highlights. My competition was fierce, with Mateer and Salaun winning seven nationals to my two over nine years. Of course there was Smith Chapman from Canada, Victor Niederhoffer, Sam Howe, Charlie Ufford and four Khans. I never beat a Khan but managed to win my share.

As I think about Harvard then and today, the values of balancing academics and sports are paramount in developing ones in life. I majored in European History, played tennis and squash and listened to Jack as he kept us on the straight and narrow. I even beat him at hearts on those long tennis trips. I love coming back to Harvard and feeling the intellectual atmosphere in Harvard Square. My business career was 31 years with Scott Paper Company, mostly in marketing. I strategically led most of the consumer bath tissue business in the United States…including Scottissue, which represented over 20% of the company’s worldwide profits. I currently am a marketing consultant with small to medium size companies. Continuing to work part time keeps my mind and body energized which, of course, has positive health implications at 77. Finally, I must say that between 1965 and 2003, I completely quit squash to play golf, tennis and paddle. A friend talked me into playing hardball doubles instead of paddle and the last nine years have a dozen of us in their 60’s and 70’s having a great time…in slow motion of course. Squash is a game to play forever.

Darius Pandole – 1988

Entering Harvard as a freshman in the fall of 1984 was truly a life changing experience for me. From meeting my freshman roommates at Wigglesworth Hall to attending Economics 10 to working dorm crew to participating in the Varsity squash program, I had to adapt to a completely new environment.

Of all the wonderful facets of life at Harvard, the most important and memorable for me was being a part of four Harvard varsity squash teams – all four of which were inter-collegiate championship winning teams! Squash to me was an anchor during my college years. It gave me many friends to play and train with on a daily basis. I grew under the tutelage of Coach Dave Fish (whom I consider to be amongst the best teachers I had at Harvard) and through interaction with all of the terrific teammates that made up these teams: Russ Ball, Jack Polsky, Jack Colbourne, Joe Dowling, Greg Lee, Dave Segal, Pete Dinneen, the Jernigan brothers, the Iselin brothers, the Masland brothers, John Schwartz, Doug Lifford, to name a few.

In those days, Americans played with the hardball, which was very different from the softball game that I grew up playing. Initially, I was confounded by the stark differences between the games and it took a while to adjust. Also, the calibre and quality of the Harvard squash program was extremely high and even though I was the Indian junior national champion, I had to play relatively lower on the order for most of my freshman year, until I was able to absorb the intricacies of the hardball game. I was thrilled about being a part of four inter-collegiate winning teams and being selected All-American. Other highlights for me included winning various amateur tournaments such as the John Jacobs (my first tournament win during my freshman year at 18-17 in the fifth game of the finals), the Cowles Invitational, the Gold Racquets, the William White and the US National Softball Championships.

After graduation in 1988, I played squash full time for a year until a back injury effectively ensured that I would not play competitively again. After completing my MBA at the University of Chicago (class of 1992), I returned to India to get involved in our family business of manufacturing soft drinks. We subsequently sold this business to PepsiCo. Thereafter, I was one of the early entrants into the private equity industry in India nearly two decades ago and am fortunate to be working in a continually evolving and exciting sector in a high growth market like India. Since it’s inception five years ago, I have been a partner at New Silk Route, an India-focused private equity fund management business.

My wife Anahita is a practicing gynecologist in Mumbai and we are celebrating 20 years of marriage this year. We have two sons, Yohan and Rian, through whom I vicariously keep experiencing the thrill of competitive sports. Yohan, my elder son, is the Indian national squash champion under-15. Rian, my younger son, is a nationally ranked junior tennis player in India. Thankfully, they have their own set of talented coaches to guide them as they certainly don’t want to take advice from me!

As I look forward to the 25th anniversary of the class of 1988 (cannot believe how time has flown by!), I vividly remember the many great friends and the rich memories that Harvard provided me. Every time I look back at this phase in my life, I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to study at Harvard and be a part of the squash fraternity there.

Charlene Neo – 2010

I’m Charlene Neo and I hail from sunny Singapore. I graduated Harvard in 2010, majoring in Economics with a minor in East Asian Studies. Upon graduation, I left Cambridge for New York City, and have been here ever since. During the day, I work as an investment analyst at a long-short equity hedge fund called Firefly Value Partners, and focus on dissecting various industries and businesses. Aside from my day job, I mostly moonlight as a wannabe (washed-up) squash player, playing in both the men’s and women’s leagues for (you guessed it!) The Harvard Club of NYC. Squash has indisputably helped me settle in NYC faster than I had imagined possible. During the week, the Harvard Club is a place for me to catch up with a steady (and growing) group of Harvard Squash alumni ranging for the strong stalwarts of the program such as Jay Nelson, who I remember, absolutely crushed me when I was visiting the club as a sophomore at a Harvard Squash alumni event. Up until today, I still haven’t had the courage to set up a re-match with Jay because he’s so fit and strong! Along with Jay, I’m usually playing with Ned Reeves, Hanna Snyder, Michael Jaffe, Vikas Goela, Audrey Duboc, Lydia Williams, Reed Endressen, Nirasha Guruge. The list expands during the summer when visiting team players come into the city. I always tell people that the Harvard Squash community lives on in NYC. Under the watchful eye of Richard Chin, we help each other to keep fit, enjoy the game beyond college, and work off the stress that all of us invariably face during the day-to-day.

Being a part of FoHS has truly helped me in my professional career as well. Over the years, I have had invaluable guidance from alumni such as Richard Sterne, Hope Prockop, Bill Kaplan, Christopher Gabrieli, Mark Panarese – all of whom have been so kind and generous in sharing their experiences with me. I am always grateful towards everyone whom I’ve met through Harvard Squash and I can only hope to be able to pay such kindness forward. In the city, I try to also help out with two after-school urban programs, CitySquash and StreetSquash. Both were founded and are run by Harvard alumni, Tim Wyant and George Polsky. They are transforming the lives of many children around NYC. I feel fortunate to be a part of their organizations, but mostly enjoy the ability to say, “Hey! They played squash for Harvard, too!”

Before I really start to bore you, I’d like to also say a big “Thank You” to all of you who have made Harvard Squash the legacy that it is today. All of your hard work and efforts have helped to build a strong, stable and continuously growing community. As I like to tell my fellow alumni and current team members, “You may have graduated from the Harvard Squash program, but one can never take Harvard squash out of you”. I am excited to follow the legacy of Harvard Squash throughout the season, and I hope that we will continue to dominate the squash scene under the tutelage of Mike Way and his stellar team over at the Murr Center. Go Crimson!

From the Desk of Editor-in-Chief Mike Way:

Phew! What a season! I could not be more proud of both teams. The team culture is now where it needs to be: a strong foundation and a quiet strength that has carried both squads with dignity and respect through victories and losses. This cultural shift is responsible for the men finishing second this year (5th in ’11, 3rd in ’12) and the women being able to dig deeper, against a much stronger field than in 2012, to successfully defend the national title. Then Amanda Sobhy put the finishing touch on our season with another individual title. Both teams can be very proud to have earned three out of six titles for Harvard.

-Mike

Ivy Pochoda ’98 and Daniel Ezra ’98 to be Inducted into Harvard Hall of Fame

These two have left an incredible legacy at Harvard. Ezra was named IVY Rookie of the Year, two-time Ivy Player of the Year, four-time First Team All-IVY, three-time First Team All-American, 1996 Individual National Champion and was a four-time IVY Title and National Team Championship winner. Pochoda was named IVY Rookie of the Year, IVY Player of the Year, four-time First Team All-IVY, four-time All-American, 1998 Individual National Champion and was a four-time IVY Title and National Team Championship winner. They will be inducted at the ceremonial dinner on May 3rd.

Changing of the Guard

The players have cast their votes and elected the captains for the 2012-13 season. Haley Mendez ’15, Natasha Anzik ’14 and Gary Power ’14, Brandon McLaughlin ’14 will be Co-Captain pairs for the men’s and women’s teams, respectively. They are taking the reigns already as the teams have begun their spring training. .

Double Trouble

Congrats to Amanda Sobhy for winning the World Doubles Championship with Natalie Grainger. Additional congrats to Fritz Hobbs ’69 for making it to the finals of the Pro-Am. Dylan Patterson ’03, Nirasha Guruge ’12 and Asst. Coach Reggie Schonborn also played in the event.

Mike and Beth on Honeymoon in Belize

Back in January, Mike and Beth came back from the winter holiday with some exciting news. They got married! They were heading to get their marriage certificate and with families coming to town for the holidays, decided to go ahead with the ceremony on 3 days notice!! Fittingly, Beth wore boots….. Mike found an old tie…

After the season ended, they finally had the time to head off for a honeymoon in Belize. We all know how Mike likes to disappear with his kiteboard. Beth, being the brains of the family, found a tropical beach with hardly any wind!

Ali and Haley Nab Agassi for Olympic Bid

Andre Agassi was on campus Tuesday giving a talk at the Leadership Institute at Harvard College. After his speech on leadership on and off the court, Ali Farag and Haley Mendez got the chance to meet him. They even snapped a photo with the Hall of Famer in support of squash’s Olympic bid for 2020.

Haley said “I thought to print out one of the Back the Bid posters in the off-chance that I would be able to see him after the talk and get him to support the bid. And he did!” Agassi said “Squash is absolutely one of the best and toughest sports. The games would be proud!”

Way to go guys!

Water Polo Cross Training

Ted Minnis, the Head Coach for Water Polo, treated the men’s team to an introductory water polo session. It was a wonderful gesture on his part, especially considering that he is currently in-season. The guys learned a few moves and got to scrimmage. They had an awesome time and were blown away by what a great workout it was. “They’re going to be pretty sore today.” Ted said with a chuckle, “Many of them told me that they had a newfound respect for how physically demanding the sport is.”

Jake Dockterman ’13, Maestro of the National Anthem

Here is the latter half of of Jake’s rendition of the national anthem from the Men’s tennis match last night. We’ve been fortunate to have Jake, a former player on our team, perform the anthem at all our home matches this year. He’s incredible!

Year-End Banquet

At our year-end celebration last Friday, the teams gathered at the Faculty Club to enjoy a meal and take a look back at our wild season. After receiving so much support from the parents at every match the season, it felt like ages since we had last seen them at the championships just one month before. They have been so committed to the players all year long; traveling all winter, hosting massive team dinners and housing teammates during the holidays. We are so thankful for their support!

Banners and trophies were presented for the women’s national title, men’s IVY title and second place finish and Amanda’s second individual championship. The men’s IVY trophy, which was shared with Princeton, will reside with the Tigers for spring/summer months and come to Cambridge in August.

There were plenty of individual accomplishments to recognize as well.

Amanda Sobhy, Laura Gemmell and Haley Mendez were named All-IVY and First Team All-American and Michelle Gemmell was named Second Team All-American).

On the men’s side, Brandon McLaughlin and Ali Farag were named All-IVY and Ali was named IVY Co-Player of the Year.

Natasha Anzik created a slide show that pulled heartstrings and drew lots of laughs. It was a bittersweet occasion as we shared stories about this fantastic group of seniors.  We are definitely going to miss the class of 2013!

Charlie Cabot, JV Co-Captain, Winner of the Nicest Guy With Scariest Profile Picture Award

Alex Ma. Look for his forthcoming music video entitled “Wait, are you filming this?”

Shaw McKean, JV Co-Captain, Freshman Heartthrob

Jason Michas, Co-Captain. He would get you off the island after making you do a ton of sprints.

Zeke Scherl, Men’s Co-Captain, Intimidator-in-Chief

Eliza Calihan, AKA Slize

Laura Gemmell, Future OBGYN of the entire women’s team

Vidya Rajan, AKA Viddy Cent

Natasha Kingshott. Co-Captain, Team Upholstery Negotiator

Sarah Mumanachit, Co-Captain. President, Marky Mark Fan Club

Check Out What Our Alumni Are Up To!

Louisa Hall ’04 Publishes Novel

Congratulations to Luisa Hall ‘04. She is a four-time First Team All-American, two-time Co-Captain and now, novelist! Her first novel, The Carriage House, was recently published by Simon and Schuster.  Check out The Carriage House at louisahall.com or
Here on Amazon! Here is an excerpt from her alumni profile from last year:

Personal: After moving to Texas, I started dating my next door neighbor, Ben, a filmmaker from Oklahoma, and we just got married in November. My sister, Colby (also a Harvard Squash player), also married a Ben, and now they live down the street from me in Austin. They’re expecting their first baby in March.

Post-College Squash Activities: After college, I moved to New York and played squash professionally for two years. As a member of the US National Team, I travelled to India, Australia, El Salvador, Colombia, and Europe.

Thoughts about Harvard Squash: I am so grateful for the experiences that Harvard Squash gave me. In addition to introducing me to some of my closest, lifelong friends, it introduced me to a group of people from all over the world who both inspired and entertained me throughout my four years in college. In addition, the focus and determination that Harvard Squash honed in me have helped me enormously in my professional life since college. I’m looking forward to moving back east one day in the near future, so that I can come back to Harvard and cheer for new generations of Harvard squash.

Will Ahmed ’12 Innovates with Fitness Analytics

Working out of the Harvard Innovation Lab with a team of ten, Will is creating a line of lightweight bracelets that monitor heart rate and other metrics. The data can be streamed wirelessly to an online community for athletes and coaches to receive feedback about intensity of workouts, fitness levels, and recovery needs. Best of all, it’s strap-free. The name of the company is Bobo, and is inspired by the sound of the heartbeat (bobo-bobo).

Check out this article about his start-up in the Boston Globe. Or take a gander at mybobo.com

Neal Tew 93′ takes “The T”

Neal Tew ’93 has overseen construction of a 5-court facility in Cincinnati, called “The T”, where he also coaches an elite junior squash program, “The Queen City Spartans”.

“The T” is leading the development of junior squash in the midwest and you can bet that top squash players will be coming out of Cincinnati in the next few years!

Check out The T’s website!

You can also listen here to Neal’s radio interview!

Hope Wins!

Congratulations to Hope Prockop ’90, who did not drop a game on her way to winning Women’s 35+ Nationals in Stamford, CT!

Look forward to our next edition where we introduce next year’s captains!

The meteoric rise in the level of college squash was never more evident than this weekend.

Between the men’s and women’s divisions, there were three former winners of the title who only made it to the quarters or semis. Many of the quarter-final matches were so well played that they looked like finals. Ali and Amanda both faced new challengers this year as they tried to repeat as national champions.

After the pressure-cooker of team nationals, the players emotional tanks are often running low for the individual event, which can make for topsy-turvy results. Some players find a new level without the added stress of team competition while others find it difficult to keep their intensity up.

Amanda and The Women

To take home the Ramsay Cup this year, Amanda had to fend off the no. 2 seeded freshman, Kanzy El-Defrawy. This newcomer from Trinity is currently the only player in college squash who can knock on Amanda’s door. Kanzy grew up playing at Heliopolis in Cairo with the likes of Ali and Ramy Ashour. Kanzy brings tremendous physicality to the game with hard, penetrating drives. Often, she retrieves would-be winners by diving across the court.

On her way to the final, Kanzy defeated Haley Mendez, our no. 3 player, Laura Gemmell, the 2010 national champion and Millie Tomlinson, the 2011 national champion.  By the weekend of Individuals, she and Amanda had already played twice in the same month. Amanda been victorious in their regular season meeting, though Kanzy became the first player to take a game off of Amanda in a CSA match. Next, they met in the Howe Cup finals. Amanda absorbed Kanzy’s powerful hitting and volleyed ferociously to win in straight sets.

As Amanda worked her way through the draw, she refused to let her concentration lag and did not lose more than 5 points in any one game up until the final.

When they met on Sunday, Amanda came out strong and surged to an early lead. Kanzy dove for a ball early in the first game and needed to have a minor wound wrapped as Amanda waited and tried to stay warm. Amanda maintained focus through the break and won the first game 11-4 and then the second 11-5.

The third game would prove much tighter. With her back against the wall, Defrawy played with renewed urgency. She stepped up the pace and went ahead 2-0 to start. Amanda caught up and the score was neck and neck until Amanda reached match ball at 10-9. Kanzy hung on and won the point to force a tiebreak. She was reasserting herself on the match and seemed to be turning the momentum. Amanda snapped it back to win the next two points and take the championship! She is now 30-0 in her college career, an incredible accomplishment.

Women’s Final Video:

Games 1 and 2

Game 3 (Check out a great rally with some lightning quick exchanges in the front at 4:19.)

Haley Mendez also had a great tournament, taking 10th place. In the first round, she took down Penn’s Haidi Lala, an Egyptian with phenomenal hands. In the second round, she was no match for Kanzy. In the second round consol, she beat Jesse Pacheco, a strong athlete who plays no. 2 for Cornell.

Then came a major breakthrough for Haley as she beat Pam Chua, Stanford’s no.1 who was seeded 7th! It was a phenomenal match, with Haley coming through 11-7 in the fifth. In the finals of the second round consol, she faced Cata Pelaez, Trinity’s no. 2 player from Bogota. Haley fought hard but lost to the senior 11-9 in the fifth.

Captain Natasha Kingshott had an unlucky draw. In the first round, she lost to the no. 5 seed, Yan Xin Tan of Penn. In the first round consol, she lost to Michelle Gemmell in four. Still, she finished the season with awesome records of 14-1 in team competition and 7-0 in the IVY League.

After Michelle beat Natasha in the consolation, she met Rachel Liezman, who she had been dying for a shot at for two months. The Princeton freshman had defeated her by a razor-thin margin in their heartbreaking regular season match. This time, Michelle was able to take away Rachel’s dangerous boast with tight drives, and impose her own deadly short game to win in four games. On Sunday, Michelle won the First Round Consolation, rolling past Penn’s senior captain, Pia Trikha. It was a satisfying stamp on the end of her season.

Julianne Chu represented Harvard in the Holleran Division. She beat Michela Martin, of Bowdoin and Annie Bellaine of Yale to reach the Semifinals.There, she lost to Nina Scott, the no. 3 player from Dartmouth.

Laura Gemmell battled a rash of injuries (hip, back, hamstring, arm..The list goes on!) She hoped to keep her body in one piece. She beat Natalie Babjukova of Trinity and then Jesse Pacheco before facing Kanzy in the quarter finals. Laura struggled to keep with Kanzy’s furious pace and lost the first two games quickly. Out of breath and facing possibly her last game in college, Laura snuck the third 12-10 with a cheeky lob-drop game, shocking the crowd (and maybe even her own coaches!) She had nothing left in the tank for the fourth and her impressive squash career came to a close.

Ali and The Men

In his first few matches on the weekend, Ali struggled to find his rhythm. He has always had a habit starting a bit too loosely and then storming back to win with applause-earning wizardry. On the day of the semi-final against Princeton, Todd contained him and asserted his own short game. He wouldn’t allow Ali any openings. For the first time in Ali’s college career, he was unable to find the solution and questions had hung in his head all week.  As the no. 2 seed in the early rounds of Individuals, his fluidity and lightning-quick deceptiveness were nowhere to be found. Instead, he seemed to be conciously deliberating over each shot; slowed down by self-analysis.

He beat Matthew Sunderland, Cornell’s no. 5, by scores of 9,9,10, much closer than expected for an early round match.  Next, he was pushed to four tight games by Sam Kang at 8, (9), 9, 9. In the quarter-finals, he beat Andres Duany of Rochester in four. It was the first time in four meetings that he had lost a game to the rangy Peruvian. To have a chance against Khalifa in the semi’s, he would have find the the instinctive game that had evaded him all week.

Ali and Amr Khaled Khalifa have played each in the World Jr. Championship finals, (Khalifa won in 2010) British Jr. Open finals (Ali won in 2011) and countless junior tournaments in Egypt going back a decade. There is little gap between these two; both being tactically brilliant, dynamic and fearless. Khalifa has unparalleled volleying abilities and Ali can work magic under any amount of pressure.  Off the court, they are also good friends who share tremendous respect.

The semi-final was a match for the ages. Khalifa came out firing at an incredible pace that is rarely seen in college squash. The creativity and speed of thought of these two top Egyptians was on full display. Ali kept with the pace and Khalifa slowed, allowing Ali to take the first 11-9. It seemed that Khalifa would fade completely after Ali dominated the second 11-3. But Khalifa was was undaunted be down 0-2 to the defending champ and he took the third game 11-7 and the fourth 11-6.  Ali was weathering an early storm in each game. Khalifa would push the pace and Ali would go with him, looking to capitalize at the end of the game when Khalifa tired.  The fifth was point for point through the middle and then Ali pulled away to reach match ball at 10-8. Many players would turn defensive when down two match balls, but Khalifa stayed true to his game and stayed aggressive on every point. He made an incredible run, shooting at every opening and winning 5 of the next 6 points to take the match 13-11.

Ali was heartbroken but, as with all great competitors, he will never forget the lessons from this match. Considering his performance in the first few rounds, he did exceptionally well to elevate his game against such a tough competitor.

Men’s Semifinal Video:

Game 2 Semifinal Farag v. Khalifa

Great squash always looks more pedestrian on camera, with the court seeming shorter than it actually is. Take my word for it, Ali’s get at (0:11)was breathtaking in person.

Ditto to Ali’s flick at (0:27).

2010 World Jr. Open Final Farag v. Khalifa

Above are highlights from the finals of the 2010 World Jr. Championships in Quito, Ecuador.

It’s interesting to see the difference in pace between the two matches since they have both grown into their bodies more since junior squash.

In the first round, Brandon McLaughlin played like a man possessed, crushing Princeton’s no. 4 player, Dylan Ward, by scores of 2,2,4. He knew he would have a an uphill battle in the second round against Khalifa. He put on a strong showing in the first, though he lost 12-10. In the next two games Khalifa’s talents showed through as he beat Brandon 11-3 and 11-5. Brandon’s last match of the year was a long, tough one that he ended up losing to Chris Hanson, the lefty no. 1 from Dartmouth.

After receiving a bye in the first round, Tommy faced Alex Arjoon in the second. He was able to outlast, the F&M player from Guyana, 11-9 in the fifth. He then fell to Vivek Dinodia, the Princeton freshman who went on to win the Molloy Division.

Nigel Koh had a tough weekend. He was suffering from illness and lost in 3 games in the first round to the 5th seed, Ahmed Abdel Khalek of Bates.He then had a long battle against Neil Martin of Yale. Neil is incredibly fit and light on his feet. As Nigel grew weary, Neil was able to turn the tide his way, winning by scores of (10) 10. (7), 4, 7.

Gary faced Sam Kang in the first round, the Singaporian no. 2 for Princeton. Kang had slightly better control of the T and made very few errors. He defeated Gary in three close games 11,12,8 (Fun fact: Sam Kang’s parents were in the same class in high school in Singapore as Nigel’s.)

In the first round of consolation, Gary stormed past Michael Sunderland. He then faced Adam “The Dude” Perkiomaki of Rochester, who has added some real weapons to his game during his college career. The Dude’s hands were on that day and took Gary down in four games.