MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The 27th-ranked Haverford College men's squash team (2–6) battled through a tightly contested lineup at the Connecticut Round Robin, ultimately falling in a match that came down to the ninth rung of the ladder, 5–4, to No. 28 Wesleyan (5–5) on Saturday morning at the Rosenbaum Squash Center.

Play began at the top flight, where Dhairya Shah earned a 3–0 victory over Aaryaman Jaising, closing out the match by scores of 11–9, 11–7, and 11–2. The second flight followed, with Arjun Somani picking up a three-game outcome against Henry Jiang (11–6, 12–10, 11–6).

At the third flight, Dominic Wilson and Kai Schinaman delivered one of the most dramatic contests of the day. After trading momentum throughout five games, Wilson ultimately claimed the match, 0–11, 11–0, 8–11, 12–10, 11–8.

The Cardinals kept their foot on the pedal in the sixth flight, as Qianzhi Zhao pushed Matthyaz Williams to four games. After dropping the opening game, Williams rallied to secure the match, 8–11, 11–1, 11–5, 11–8.

The fifth flight featured another extended battle, where Jet Li forced extra points in an epic opening game before picking up the win in four games over Zachary Lu, 17–15, 11–9, 6–11, 11–9, to get the Fords on the board. Action then shifted to the fourth rung of the ladder, where Ben Levy earned a four-game victory over Harrison Tillinghast by scores of 11–8, 6–11, 11–9, and 11–5, giving the Scarlet and Black their second point of the match.

With the team score tightening, the seventh flight produced another five-game battle. Dean Ibrahim edged Zachary Idinopulos in a back-and-forth match, taking the contest 11–5, 12–14, 11–9, 5–11, 11–5, to trim the Wesleyan lead to 4–3.

The eighth rung also went the distance, as Francis Betkowski and Sumer Ahluwalia exchanged momentum throughout a grueling five-game contest. Betkowski ultimately closed out the match, 11–5, 13–11, 7–11, 8–11, 11–7, setting the stage for the deciding match in the ninth flight.

With the overall result on the line, the contest came down to the ninth position. Finn Goodson collected the match-sealing win with a four-game victory over Nevin Mital by scores of 11–6, 11–6, 8–11, and 11–7.

Haverford will close out the Connecticut Round Robin with a match against No. 26 Conn. College on Sunday, January 18, at 10 a.m.