No. 9 Virginia Advances to Semifinals with 5-4 Win Against No. 16 Franklin and Marshall
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 9 Virginia men’s squash team (16-5) defeated No. 16 Franklin and Marshall (14-7), 5-4, in the quarterfinals at the Hoehn Cup, the B Division of the College Squash Association (CSA) Team Championships, on Friday (Feb. 15) at the Brady Squash Center in New Haven, Conn.
The Cavaliers, who are the No. 1 seed in the tournament, will advance to Saturday’s semifinals to face No. 13 Drexel (6-9), the fifth-seed, at 3 p.m.
“Another grind it out win today,” head coach Mark Allen said. “Franklin and Marshall is a high quality, well coached team, and just like the other two times we have played them this season, it was four-all and came down to the final match. Once again the guys found a way, and with today’s win we are guaranteed to finish this season with our highest ever ranking – one that the guys fully deserve and have worked so hard for. This team is capable of even more though. We lost to tomorrow’s opponent Drexel at the very start of the season, but we have improved tremendously since then and do have a chance to make the final if we play our very best squash and continue to believe in ourselves. It promises to be another nail-biting match against another very good opponent.”
Despite opening the match with a loss in position three, Virginia took an early 2-1 lead with wins from sophomore Matthew Katz (Baltimore, Md) in position nine and freshman Glenn Yates (Cape Town, South Africa) in position six. Katz topped Allen Thompkins 11-2, 11-1, 11-9, while Yates defeated Boden Polikoff 11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8.
The lead shifted to the Diplomats as the Cavaliers fell in positions two and five, respectively, but an 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 victory from sophomore Andrew Braff (Locust Valley, N.Y.) in position eight tied the score at 3-3.
Freshman Patrick McElroy (Brookline, Mass.) picked up a 12-10, 7-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-4 victory against Shamseldeen Abbas at position one, but a loss for Virginia in position seven evened the score at 4-4.
Junior Toby Hansford (Darien, Conn.) recorded the deciding point in position four, battling through an 11-6, 0-11, 11-8, 11-7 four-game win against Yannis Senkel.
Today’s win was the third time this season that Virginia defeated the Diplomats 5-4 in a match and was the second time that Hansford clinched the deciding point against Franklin and Marshall.
The Cavaliers will return to action tomorrow, competing in the semifinals against No. 13 Drexel at 3 p.m. at the Brady Squash Center.
No. 9 Virginia def. No. 16 Franklin and Marshall 5-4
Order of Finish (3, 9, 6, 2, 5, 8, 1, 7, 4)
1 | Patrick McElroy (UVA) def. Shamseldeen Abbas (FM) 12-10, 7-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-4
2 | Sanjay Jeeva (FM) def. Will Holey (UVA) 11-7, 11-3, 11-4
3 | Silvio Soom (FM) def. William Braff (UVA) 11-2, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10
4 | Toby Hansford (UVA) def. Yannis Senkel (FM) 11-6, 0-11, 11-8, 11-7
5 | Aryan Parekh (FM) def. Grayson Bubrosky (UVA) 12-10, 11-1, 11-8
6 | Glenn Yates (UVA) def. Boden Polikoff (FM) 11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8
7 | Matthew Dukarm (FM) def. Jarett Odrich (UVA) 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 8-11, 11-5
8 | Andrew Braff (UVA) def. Ricardo Machado (FM) 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7
9 | Matthew Katz (UVA) def. Allen Tompkins (FM) 11-2, 11-1, 11-9