CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 5 Franklin & Marshall men's squash team fell to No. 1 Harvard by a 9-0 score on Saturday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Collegiate Squash Association (CSA) Team Championships in Cambridge.
The loss moved the Diplomats' record to 15-4 on the season and placed F&M into the consolation bracket, where it will take on No. 3 Yale tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. The tournament host Harvard remains perfect on the year at 16-0 and will seek its first national title since 1998, when the Crimson take on No. 2 Trinity at 1:00 p.m.
Despite the outcome of tomorrow's consolation match, the Diplomats will finish the year with their highest ranking since the 1986-87 team, a member of the F&M Athletic Hall of Fame, wrapped up its season at No. 2.
Even though Harvard earned the sweep on the day, the Diplomats lineup battled the Crimson throughout, pushing three matchups to four games. At No. 3, Mauricio Sedano found himself in a 2-0 hole but fought back to take the third by an 11-4 score. However, Harvard's Dylan Murray managed to close out the contest by a narrow 11-9 margin in the fourth.
Pedro Veiga de Almeida also gave his opponent all he could handle at the No. 6 spot, falling by a 3-1 tally (11-7, 11-13, 11-5, 13-11), while Ryan Mullaney put forth a strong effort at No. 8 but eventually dropped a 3-1 match (9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 15-10).
Live brackets for tomorrow's final day of competition, including the Diplomats showdown with Yale, can be found here.
#1 Harvard 9, #5 Franklin & Marshall 0
1. Ali Farag (HAR) def. Abhishek Pradhan (F&M) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5
2. Brandon McLaughlin (HAR) def. Jack Cutler (F&M) 11-8, 11-8, 11-3
3. Dylan Murray (HAR) def. Mauricio Sedano (F&M) 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 11-9
4. Gary Power (HAR) def. Wesley Osborne (F&M) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7
5. Nigel Koh (HAR) def. Alex Arjoon (F&M) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7
6. Bryan Koh (HAR) def. P. Veiga de Almeida (F&M) 11-7, 11-13, 11-5, 13-11
7. Nicholas Hopcroft (HAR) def. Dylan Cunningham (F&M) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7
8. Tom Mullaney (HAR) def. Ryan Mullaney (F&M) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 15-10
9. Tyler Olson (HAR) def. Brian Henry (F&M) 11-7, 11-8, 12-10
