Philadelphia - For the first time since 1995, the University of Pennsylvania men's squash team defeated Yale in a deciding ninth game to win 5-4 and improve to 7-1 on the season. After Wednesday's victory over number six Rochester that was decided by a remarkable come from behind win from freshman Andrew Douglas, the Penn men's squash team didn't expect things to get any easier just three days later against number eight Yale as they began their Ivy slate.

Up 4-1, the Quakers lost the next three as Yale tied things up at four matches a piece. For the second straight match, The Red and Blue would need a win in the day's final match if they were to come away with a victory. However, instead of Douglas, this time it would be up to junior Karim Hussein who had a 5-2 record, both those losses coming in the last three matches. 

In much less dramatic fashion than Douglas three nights earlier, Hussein, or "Kimo" has his teammates call him, won the first two games 11-5 before eventually winning a fourth game also 11-5 to earn the 3-1 victory. Hussein found himself down 2-4 in the first game before dialing in and rallying off nine of the next ten points to take the early momentum. 

After losing the third game 11-2, the junior got back to playing his game that the packed crowd at The Ringe had witnessed in the first two games. The final point came to an end when Yale's Pierson Broadwater was penalized for opponent interference therefore awarding Hussein match point. 

The Quakers started the day in complete control. Hayes Murphy set the tone for the day by winning his match 11-8, 11-6, 11-4.

Freshman Yash Bhargava followed suit, however, his win didn't come quite as easily as he won in five games. Bhargava won the first game 12-10 before losing the next two to go down 1-2. The freshman, who had a 6-1 record coming into the day, would need to force a fifth game for the first time in his career in order to win. Bhargava did just that as he won the next two games 11-6 to earn what would be a very important victory. 

Andrew Douglas had a much easier time Saturday afternoon sweeping his match 3-0. Also earning a win for the Red and Blue was James Watson who won 11-2 in the fourth after splitting the first two games. 

While Derek Hsue didn't come out with a win, he competed in what was the match of the day. Hsue won the opening two game 11-8, 11-9 before eventually losing the next three sets just as close. That included coming up on the wrong side of a 14-12 fourth set. The senior eventually lost 11-9 in the fifth. 

What's Next

The Quakers will have very little time to celebrate their win against Yale and recover. They will play their second Ivy match of the weekend as Brown visits the Ringe at noon on Sunday.

Full Results

1. Andrew Douglas (PENN) d. Spencer Lovejoy (YALE) - 11-9, 11-6, 11-2
2. Hayes Murphy (PENN) d. Max Martin (YALE) - 11-8, 11-6, 11-4
3. Harrison Gill (YALE) d. Marwan Mahmoud (PENN) - 11-2, 11-4, 11-8
4. Arjun Kochhar (YALE) d. David Yacobucci (PENN) - 14-12, 11-5, 13-15, 11-5
5. Karim Hussein (PENN) d. Pierson Broadwater (YALE) - 11-5, 11-5, 2-11, 11-5
6. Thomas Kingshott (YALE) d. Derek Hsue (PENN) - 8-11, 9-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-9
7. Yash Bhargava (PENN) d. Calvin McCafferty (YALE) - 12-10, 6-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6
8. James Watson (PENN) d. Tyler Carney (YALE) - 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2
9. Yohan Pandole (YALE) d. Max Reed (PENN) - 11-9, 11-9, 11-6
10. (EXH) Wil Hagen (PENN) d. James Losty (YALE) - 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 4-11, 11-6