Philadelphia -  The University of Pennsylvania men's squash team (8-3, 2-1 Ivy) came up just short on Wednesday night as they fell to No. 6 Princeton at Ringe, 5-4. The Quakers will have a quick turnaround as Wednesday marked their first of three matches in five days. Penn will travel to Dartmouth on Saturday and then to Harvard on Sunday as they continue Ivy play.

Inside the Numbers

* Penn and Princeton played three matches that went the distance and went to five games. The Red and Blue went just 1-2 in those matches with Marwan Mahmoud winning the final match of the day. Yash Bhargava lost the final three points to fall 12-10 in the fifth while Andrew Douglas fell 11-6 in the fifth.

* The battle at number one between Andrew Douglas and Youssef Ibrahim marked a rematch of the 2017 World Junior Squash Championship quarterfinal. Douglas fell in five games Wednesday night, the same result as last July when he fell 11-9 in the fifth to the Princeton freshman. 

* With the 3-0 win at number nine, Max Reed improves to 9-1 on the season. His only loss coming to Trinity. 


How it Happened

Looking to keep their historic season rolling, the Penn men's squash team hosted a strong, young team in Princeton on Wednesday night ranked number six in the country. 

After Hayes Murphy and David Yacobucci won their first games, it looked as if things were going to go the Quakers' way. While Yacobucci went on to win his match in four games, Murphy, who captivated the crowd at Ringe, lost the next three to lose in four games.

Losing the first game, Derek Hsue came back to win the second 11-6 before losing the next two as he fell 3-1 as well. Penn then looked to Yash Bhargava who was in a thriller of his own. Bhargava had lost the first and third games, but managed to force a fifth. The freshman fought back from 3-1 to lead 10-9 in the decider. He then lost the ensuing three points coming up just short losing 12-10 in the fifth. 

Down 3-1 heading into the second half of matches, the Quakers would lean on Andrew Douglas and Karim Hussein who each dug the team out of holes earlier in the year against Rochester and Yale as well as James Watson, Marwan Mahmoud, and Max Reed. 

Watson and Reed each came out with 3-0 win while Hussein lost in four. 

Battling on the final two courts were Mahmoud and Douglas. After winning the first set, Douglas lost the next two to Youssef Ibrahim who he had played just last summer in the quarterfinals at the World Junior Squash Championships. The freshman won the fourth 11-7 and looked to be on his way to another potential miracle on court one. 

However, tied 5-5, Douglas lost five straight points before eventually losing 11-6 in the fifth giving Princeton a 5-3 lead and clinching the match for the Tigers.

Despite the team already losing the match, Mahmoud held strong as he climbed back from a 1-2 deficit having lost the third game 16-14. The senior showed great adversity winning the fourth game 11-7 and then went on to win the fifth 11-8. 

What's Next

The Quakers will have a quick turnaround as they continue the Ivy slate. Penn will travel to Dartmouth on Saturday before heading to Cambridge on Sunday to play Harvard.

Full Results

1. Youssef Ibrahim (PRINCE) d. Andrew Douglas (PENN) - 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6
2. Adhitya Raghavan (PRINCE) d. Hayes Murphy (PENN) - 6-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-6
3. Marwan Mahmoud (PENN) d. Cole Becker (PRINCE) - 8-11, 11-6, 14-16, 11-7, 11-8
4. David Yacobucci (PENN) d. Clark Doyle (PRINCE) - 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7
5. Cody Cortes (PRINCE) d. Karim Hussein (PENN) - 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
6. Duncan Joyce (PRINCE) d. Derek Hsue (PENN) - 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4
7. Abhimanyu Shah (PRINCE) d. Yash Bhargava (PENN) - 11-6, 2-11, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10
8. James Watson (PENN) d. Alex Engstrom (PRINCE) - 11-7, 11-3, 11-9
9. Max Reed (PENN) d. Komron Shayegan (PRINCE) - 11-9, 11-8, 11-3
10 (EXH). Wil Hagen (PENN) d. Henry Parkhurst (PRINCE) - 11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 15-13, 11-7