PHILADELPHIA - Co-hosting the first ever Pennsylvania State Classic, the University of Pennsylvania men's squash team (2-0) defeated cross-street opponent, Drexel, in the final on Sunday with the final score of 8-1. The Quakers set up the meeting with a 9-0 win on Saturday over Franklin and Marshall. Over the two days, The Red and Blue lost just one match on their way to the title.
Six of the Quakers' matches ended in three games including that of the team's number one player,
Andrew Douglas. Down 3-7 in the opening game, Douglas fought back to take five of the next six points to tie the score at 8-8. Douglas held strong to take the game 14-12 and the next two games 11-7 and 11-3 to win 3-0 in his second career match at The Ringe Courts.
Losing the first game 10-12,
David Yacobucci bounced back to take the next three games 11-9, 11-7, and 11-8. Johnathan Zeitels and
Wil Hagen also won their matches in four games. Playing the longest game of the day,
Yash Bhargava won the second game of his match 19-17 in dramatic fashion.
The only loss for the Quakers came at the second spot where
Hayes Murphy lost a tough five game match. After losing the first two games, Murphy fought back to win the next two, tying it up at two games apiece. However, Murphy's comeback fell short in the decisive fifth game as he lost, 11-6.
Scores
1.
Andrew Douglas (PENN) d. Bransten Ming (DREX) - 14-12, 11-7, 11-3
2. Lucas Rousselet (DREX) d.
Hayes Murphy (PENN) - 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 8-11, 11-6
3.
David Yacobucci (PENN) d. Atticus Kelly (DREX) - 10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8
4. Marwan Mahmoud (PENN) d. Dylan Kachur (DREX) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6
5. Karim Tarek (PENN) d. Nathaniel Fry (DREX) - 14-12, 11-4, 11-8
6. Yash Bhargava (PENN) d. Josh Hughes (DREX) - 12-10, 19-17, 11-5
7. Johnathan Zeitels (PENN) d. Noel Solomon (DREX) - 12-10, 11-13, 11-8, 11-4
8.
Wil Hagen (PENN) d. Cillian Dunne (DREX) - 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8
9.
Max Reed (PENN) d. Mostafa Aboul Makarim (DREX) - 11-8, 11-8, 11-5
10.
Ryan Murray (PENN) d. Royston Raymond (DREX) - 11-4, 11-6, 11-7
What's Next
The Quakers head on the road next weekend as they take on Virginia and Navy. The Red and Blue will return home on December 3 to play Williams and St. Lawrence.
