Fresh off of their third consecutive title, the No. 7 Virginia men’s squash team (12-8) traveled to Philadelphia, Pa. to conclude its season of team competitions with three matches in the Potter Cup — the College Squash Association Men’s Team Championships.
The Cavaliers’ final weekend did not go according to plan, however, as they dropped all three of their matches leading to an eighth-place finish in the tournament.
Friday
Virginia’s tournament began with a big challenge in the form of No. 2 Harvard. The Cavaliers were scheduled to take on the Crimson (15-1) earlier this season, but the game was canceled after Harvard withdrew from the competition.
The Crimson got off to a quick start Friday, winning the first three matches in straight sets. Ultimately, only senior Will Holey was able to secure a win for Virginia as the Cavaliers fell to Harvard by a score of 8-1.
The loss sent Virginia into the Potter Cup’s consolation bracket for the second consecutive season while Harvard would go on to win the tournament with a 5-4 victory over No. 1 Penn in the championship game, securing their third straight national title.
Saturday
The Cavaliers continued their tournament Saturday with two matches in the consolation bracket against No. 3 Trinity and No. 8 Drexel.
In the day’s first match against Trinity, Virginia jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to wins from junior Aly Hussein and sophomore Myles Mcyntire. The Bantams (16-3) quickly battled back with two wins of their own to tie the match.
After splitting the next four games, Trinity junior Will Curtis earned the clinching win for his team in a five set battle with Virginia freshman CJ Baldini.
The loss set up a rubber match for the Cavaliers with MASC foe No. 8 Drexel. Virginia entered Saturday’s match with a 1-5 all-time record against the Dragons (12-8). The lone win came in the Cavaliers’ final game before the Potter Cup this season, when Virginia topped Drexel to claim the MASC Championship on Feb. 6.
The Cavaliers, however, were unable to secure a second straight win over their conference rival. Virginia once again took an early 2-0 lead with wins by Hussein and sophomore Taha Dinana. But the Dragons quickly roared back, claiming five of the next seven games to earn the 5-4 win.
With the loss, the Cavaliers finished in eighth place in the Potter Cup. The tournament concludes Virginia’s team competitions for the season. The College Squash Association Individual Championships will be held March 4-6 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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