Yale Athletics

With both teams entering Wednesday’s competition ranked in the top five, the Yale men’s and women’s squash teams lived up to high expectations, nearly shutting out Brown across 18 combined sets.

The No. 5 men’s squad (3–0, 1–0 Ivy) has enjoyed a long track record of success against the No. 18 Bears (0–1, 0–1), with 10 straight wins since February 2011 leading up to this contest. Despite missing three players due to injury, the Bulldogs continued the streak without dropping a single set.

“We were confident going into the Brown match and knew if we played well we would win,” captain Spencer Lovejoy ’20 said. “We wanted to be clinical and win 9–0, and that’s what we did, so we’re happy about that.”

This performance continues a remarkable season for the Elis, with wins against No. 20 Williams, No. 12 Virginia and a standout performance at the Ivy League Scrimmage already under their belt before the match. In the competition against Brown, seven of the 10 players closed out their sets in three games.

Even after achieving such early success this season, the Bulldogs are not complacent with this win. The seconded-seeded Nadav Raziel ’22 emphasized the high expectations on the team, both for this match and for the upcoming contest against No. 10 Drexel.

“Anything but a win [against Brown] and coach would make us walk all the way back from Providence,” the sophomore from Israel said. “Saturday is gonna be huge. We expect a big crowd, and it’s gonna be fun. [Drexel is] a very good team, but we are ready to go out there and fight hard like we always do.”

The No. 5 women’s team (3–0, 1–0) has enjoyed similar success and has not lost a single match this season. Headed into competition against No. 12 Brown, the team had not dropped more than one set in any match.

The Elis have continued this winning streak on Wednesday, only conceding one set and walking away with a decisive 8–1 victory. Five of the nine women’s players closed out their sets in three games.

Brianna Jefferson ’23 elaborated on the team’s morale after a blowout victory.

“It was great to play our first Ivy League match against Brown yesterday,” the first year from Ontario said. “The team was really encouraging and I’m glad we got the win against them.”

Against No. 7 Drexel, the women’s squad will face a stronger and higher-ranked opponent. Still, the team is optimistic heading into the weekend.

Aishwarya Bhattacharya ’21 stressed the importance of the team’s preparation for the upcoming Drexel match.

“[We have] a good foundation for Drexel, which is a strong team that has had some good results and upsets in the season so far,” Bhattacharya said. “We are confident going in against them and we are going to trust our training and fight hard to get the win.”

Both teams will face Drexel in Philadelphia this Saturday.

Matthew Cline | matthew.cline@yale.edu

MATTHEW CLINE