The men's squash team made history this past weekend as they pulled out a nail-biter, 5-4, against a talented Yale squad. Having last beaten Bulldogs in the winter of 1977, this victory comes as a testament of a new, stronger team ready to establish themselves as a force in the Ivy League.
"It was a huge win for us," commented co-Captain Russell Echlov '97, "especially following a win like we had against Brown in our last match."
At the two spot, Echlov opened the day with a win against his opponent Devraj Roy in four sets, 15-9, 9-15, 15-14, and 15-13. With smart play and a tough mental game, Echlov prevailed in a contest which saw both sides evenly matched.
Fellow captain Jon Gabel '98 had no problem with his guy, pummeling his opponent with blistering shots and seizing the #4 match 3-0. In similar style, Bill Tarr '98 finished off his Bulldog in three straight at #6, while sophomore Will Leicht won 3-2.
Beau River '00, playing at the top of the ladder, didn't have the same fortune as he dropped his match in a closely contested 2-3 battle. Tucker Richmond '99 couldn't find his rhythm and lost 0-3 as did Ross Hallock '97. Ranjit Ahluwalia '97 was tripped up 1-3.
At this point the Big Green found itself tied in a tense 4-4 battle and all the pressure fell upon the shoulders of junior Zach Segal '98. Playing #7, Segal went up against Yale's Gordy Rodgers. Segal opened the match with a 15-11 victory, but then lost the second one 11-15.
Things looked bleak after the third set where Segal took a thrashing, scoring only two points. With the crisis mounting and down 2-1, Segal rallied back and took the last two sets 15-8, 15-11 in impressively show mental strength.
"Zach Segal was the hero of this match," Hallock said.
With the tremendous win, the Big Green extends its record to 2-0. Tomorrow, at four, the men will be back in action as they face Williams who lost barely lost to Yale last Friday.
"Our confidence is higher than it has been in the past few years." Echlov said of his team's solid start.
