PHILADELPHIA – The No. 26 Haverford College men's squash team opened its 2026-27 campaign with a split of two matches at the Pennsylvania State Classic on Saturday at the Penn Squash Center. The Fords began the morning with an emphatic 8-1 victory over No. 33 Dickinson, claiming eight consecutive positions on the ladder, before battling No. 20 Franklin & Marshall in a 6-3 setback during the afternoon session.
No. 26 Haverford 8, No. 33 Dickinson 1
Haverford wasted little time asserting itself against its regional rival, turning in a commanding performance throughout the ladder to open the season with an 8-1 triumph over Dickinson.
The Fords claimed victories at the second through ninth positions, including six straight-game sweeps and two hard-fought four-game decisions. Ben Levy and Henry Jiang battled through tightly contested encounters, while Tarun Sargunar, Advait Chandramouli, Jet Li, Dean Ibrahim, Francis Betkowski and Anshuman Jaising each delivered straight-game victories.
At the second rung of the ladder, Levy produced one of Haverford's most impressive comeback performances against Menghou Du. After dropping the opening game, 11-8, Levy responded with a narrow 12-10 victory in the second to level the match. He followed with an 11-8 third-game triumph before prevailing in another closely contested 12-10 decision to complete an 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 victory.
Sargunar was equally effective at the third position, dispatching George Vollmer V in straight games. After establishing an early advantage with an 11-5 opening game, Sargunar held off his opponent for an 11-8 decision in the second before closing out the encounter with a decisive 11-2 third game.
Jiang delivered another important victory at the fourth rung, overcoming a second-game setback to defeat Zachary Fekrat in four. Jiang captured the opener, 11-6, before Fekrat responded with an 11-2 victory to level the match. The Ford regained control with an 11-9 third game and finished with an 11-8 decision in the fourth, securing an 11-6, 2-11, 11-9, 11-8 triumph.
At the fifth position, Chandramouli controlled his encounter with Gerardo Ortiz from the outset, opening with an 11-3 victory before adding 11-8 and 11-7 decisions to complete the straight-game sweep.
Li followed with a competitive three-game victory over Harry Hess at the sixth rung of the ladder. After taking the opening game, 11-4, Li held off Hess for an 11-9 victory in the second. The third proved particularly dramatic, with both players extending the game beyond the regulation 11 points before Li secured a 15-13 decision to complete the sweep.
Ibrahim produced one of Haverford's most decisive performances at the seventh position, conceding just seven points across three games against Colin Wagenbach. Ibrahim established control with an 11-1 opening game before adding 11-4 and 11-2 victories to secure another point for the Scarlet and Black.
At the eighth rung, Betkowski defeated Diego Espinoza in straight games, capturing the opening game, 11-6, before closing out the contest with 11-5 and 11-4 decisions.
Jaising rounded out Haverford's eight-point total at the ninth position, defeating Will Kearney by an 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 score. His victory completed a dominant stretch for the Fords, who surrendered just four games across their eight individual wins.
Dickinson's lone point came at the top of the ladder, where William Krizek defeated Qianzhi Zhao in four games. After Krizek captured the opening two games, 11-5 and 11-4, Zhao responded with a 12-10 victory in the third to extend the encounter. Krizek ultimately prevailed with an 11-5 fourth-game decision.
The result marked an impressive beginning to the new campaign for Haverford, with the Fords displaying considerable strength throughout their lineup against a familiar opponent.
No. 20 Franklin & Marshall 6, No. 26 Haverford 3
Haverford returned to the courts for its second match of the afternoon, facing No. 20 Franklin & Marshall in Pennsylvania State Classic action. The Fords secured three impressive individual victories against the Diplomats, with Ibrahim and Betkowski prevailing in five-game battles and Jaising delivering a four-game triumph.
At the fifth rung of the ladder, Ibrahim produced a determined comeback performance against David Vahlsing Jr., prevailing in a tightly contested five-game encounter.
Vahlsing took the opening game, 11-4, before Ibrahim responded in a dramatic second, edging his opponent 14-12 to level the match. The Ford carried that momentum into the third, capturing an 11-6 victory to move within one game of securing the point.
The fourth game proved equally competitive, with Vahlsing holding off Ibrahim for a 15-13 victory to force a decisive fifth. Ibrahim regrouped in the final game, establishing control with an 11-6 decision to complete a 4-11, 14-12, 11-6, 13-15, 11-6 victory.
Betkowski delivered another five-game triumph at the sixth position, outlasting Eeshan Sawant in a back-and-forth encounter.
Betkowski captured the opening game, 11-7, before Sawant responded with an 11-8 decision to level the match. The Haverford player regained the advantage behind an 11-6 third-game victory, but Sawant answered with an 11-9 triumph in the fourth to send the contest to a deciding game.
With the match hanging in the balance, Betkowski secured an 11-8 victory in the fifth, completing an 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 triumph and adding another point to Haverford's total.
Jaising continued his strong opening day at the seventh rung, rallying from a game down to defeat Teerth Jilka in four.
After dropping the opener, 11-5, Jaising responded emphatically with an 11-4 second game to pull even. He followed with an 11-8 decision in the third before finishing with an 11-6 fourth, completing a 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 victory.
The result gave Ibrahim, Betkowski and Jaising perfect 2-0 individual records across Saturday's competition, with the trio combining to account for six of Haverford's 11 individual victories on the day.
At the eighth position, Wei-En Hsu nearly added another point for the Scarlet and Black in a five-game battle against Malachi McCall.
McCall captured a closely contested opening game, 13-11, before Hsu responded with a 12-10 victory in the second to level the encounter. After McCall regained the advantage with an 11-5 third game, Hsu answered with an 11-6 decision in the fourth to force a decisive fifth.
The final game remained tightly contested throughout, but McCall ultimately prevailed, 11-9, to secure the point for Franklin & Marshall. The encounter represented one of the afternoon's closest individual matches, with Hsu narrowly missing out on a victory after forcing the contest to five games.
At the top rung of the ladder, Zhao faced Sharan Punjabi, who secured an 11-3, 11-7, 11-2 victory. Levy encountered Aditya Chandani at the second position, with the Diplomat claiming an 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 decision.
Jiang moved into the third position against Toby Clegg-Petri, producing his strongest effort in a competitive opening game before falling 11-9. Clegg-Petri followed with 11-4 and 11-8 victories to complete the sweep.
At the fourth rung, Chandramouli faced Jamie Stait, who secured an 11-3, 11-7, 11-2 victory.
Arvin Krishnan rounded out Haverford's lineup at the ninth position, falling to Logan Simmons by an 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 score.
Despite the afternoon setback, the Fords concluded their opening day with a decisive victory over Dickinson and several standout individual performances against Franklin & Marshall. Ibrahim, Betkowski and Jaising each swept their respective matchups, while Hsu's five-game effort highlighted the team's competitiveness against the Diplomats.
Haverford will open Liberty League competition on Saturday, Dec. 5, traveling to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a pair of conference matches. The Fords will first face No. 28 St. Lawrence at 1 p.m. before taking on host No. 33 Vassar at 3 p.m.
