HAVERFORD, Pa. - The 30th-ranked Haverford men's squash team (4-8) went 2-0 against a pair of Liberty League foes on Saturday at the GIAC Courts. Haverford opened the day returning to the win column with a convincing 8-1 triumph over No. 32 Hobart before sweeping past No. 33 Vassar, 9-0. The matches served as Haverford's Mental Health and Suicide Awareness Game, held in honor of Thomas Saltoun Braun.
No. 30 Haverford 8, No. 32 Hobart 1
Wins at four, six, and seven helped set the tone for the Fords as they jetted out to a 3-0 lead over the Statesmen. Kai Schinaman outlasted Gabriel Garcia (11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 11-5) in four games, while Qianzhi Zhao made quick work of John Solano (11-5, 11-7, 11-8) at the sixth flight. Advait Chandramouli did the same at the seventh, dispatching Mason Graham in straight games and allowing just 11 total points (11-4, 11-4, 11-3).
At the top flight, Aaryaman Jaising outlasted Adam Le in a five-game thriller, taking a 15-13 win in the first game before rattling off an 11-8 triumph. Le roared back with 11-6 and 11-8 victories, but Jaising was victorious in the fifth game, 11-5, to put another tally in the Haverford column.
The second round of matches to hit the courts saw four triumphs for the Fords, including at the third flight, where Ben Levy responded from a first-game loss to take a victory over Javier de la Vega (7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6). Jet Li was victorious over Peter Vorbach at the fifth flight (11-6, 11-6, 11-4), while Dean Ibrahim won at the eighth flight in a sweep (11-7, 11-9, 11-2), dispatching Jayden Saldana. Nevin Mital cruised over Miles Mackey (11-3, 11-6, 11-6).
Henry Jiang dropped the first game to Caio Paiva at the second flight but was forced to retire due to injury, putting the lone tally in the Hobart column.
In the exhibition match at the 10th flight, Francis Betkowski notched a dominant performance against Billy Gancer (11-4, 11-0, 11-1), allowing just five total points to his opponent.
No. 30 Haverford 9, No. 33 Vassar 0
In the late afternoon match against the Brewers, Haverford cruised to victory. Aaryaman Jaising got the better of Matthew Okulski in a sweep (11-3, 11-7, 11-5). At the sixth and seventh flights, Dean Ibrahim took down Razaan Lalji (11-8, 11-2, 11-7), while Nevin Mital registered a sweep of Julian Cardenas (11-3, 11-4, 11-7). Jet Li dispatched Aqeel Merchant in four games (11-9, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8).
Qianzhi Zhao swept Gabriel Lugo at the fifth flight (11-7, 11-7, 11-6), while Francis Betkowski got the better of Alexander Thorn in three games at the eighth flight (11-5, 11-4, 11-8). Arvin Krishnan stepped into the lineup and delivered a calm, methodical sweep of Joseph Donato at the ninth flight (11-2, 11-0, 11-5)..
Ben Levy took home a win at the second flight, fending off a third-game challenge from a familiar opponent in Konstantinos Georgallides (12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9). Kai Schinaman was locked in a spirited battle with Kyle Benson, with the two players trading the first four games. Schinaman went ahead 11-5, but Benson rallied for an 11-8 win.
Schinaman responded with an 11-8 victory, before Benson again answered, 11-5. Schinaman had the upper hand in the deciding fifth game, sealing the tally on the Haverford side with an 11-4 win.
Haverford continues its homestand Saturday, Feb. 7, against No. 25 Dickinson (10:30 a.m.) and No. 18 Franklin & Marshall (3:30 p.m.).
