Melanie Heller, Staff Photographer

The Yale men’s (8–3, 5–2) and women’s (6–4, 4–3) squash teams lost their matches against in-state rival Trinity (14–2 men’s, 9–1 women’s) on Wednesday, but remain top contenders for the national title. The Bulldogs will now focus on preparing for the postseason, where they will look to conquer the College Squash Association team and individual championships. 

On Wednesday, the Elis traveled to Hartford in the hopes of toppling Trinity, a perennial powerhouse in the sport at the collegiate level. Yale made things difficult, drawing out thrilling, hard-fought battles against the Bantams. Still, the Yale men’s team fell narrowly 4–5, while the women’s team lost 3–6. Nevertheless, both squads retain solid winning records going into the postseason. 

“We have both teams currently ranked number four in the nation,” Yale squash head coach Lynn Leong wrote to the News about the team’s current position. “I would applaud the efforts everyone on the men’s and women’s team has put forth in training and in competition for getting us to this point of the season.” 

Both teams’ strong regular season performances will allow them to compete in the highest division of collegiate squash during the postseason. The top eight teams in the nation, who are in the ‘A’ division, qualify to vie for the national title. The top men’s teams will compete for the Potter Cup while the women’s teams will vie for the Howe Cup. 

The Yale women’s squash team wrapped up its season with the matchup at Trinity, finishing the regular season with a .600 overall winning percentage. This is the fourth consecutive season where they have placed in the top five in the national standings. However, the women’s team has also never dropped below the top eight in more than three decades, building upon a continued tradition of Yale excellence in squash. 

“Our performance has been pretty solid,” Yale women’s squash captain Aishwarya Bhattacharya ’21 SPH ’22 said. “We’ve definitely had some ups and downs … but I think I’m really proud of the way the team has performed. Everyone’s really engaged, focused and committed … The team is really young and we’re just starting to gain the experience we need.” 

The Yale men’s squash team still needs to finish its season with a home finale against No. 10 Rochester (6–5, 4–0 WHAC) this Sunday. The Yellow Jackets will travel to New Haven on a  five-game winning streak, with their most recent victory coming in a strong 7–2 showing against Dartmouth. 

The last time they faced off against the Bulldogs in Jan. 2020, Rochester managed a 7–2 win. However, the Yale men’s team has entered this season stronger than ever and are optimistic about their upcoming match. 

“From 2017 to 2020, we lost a lot of matches against Rochester, so I think for us going [into the match-up] as the higher-rated team and being able to play our Senior Day at home … will be a really exciting and good opportunity for us to win,” men’s squash captain Harrison Gill ’22 said. 

The Bulldogs are also in their first season under a new head coach in Leong, who joined Yale as a senior assistant coach in 2017 and was promoted to her current position from an interim head coach position last May. 

“It has been an unusually challenging season due to the Delta and Omicron surges,” Leong wrote about her first year as head coach. “I had the responsibility of not just preparing the players for live competition, but also managing everyone’s health and safety. I am very fortunate to have a dedicated coaching staff who all [have] done a great job ensuring our young teams were responsible and ready to compete.” 

The Bulldogs will venture into dangerous territory this postseason, as they face off against the nation’s strongest teams and favorites for the title. Their Ivy rivals will be especially formidable opponents. Heading into the championship race, the Yale women’s team is behind only No. 1 Harvard (12–0, 6–0), No. 2 Trinity and No. 3 Princeton (9–2, 5–1). These teams, along with Columbia (7–4, 4–2), were the only ones that were able to beat the Bulldogs during the regular season. The men’s team is ranked behind No. 1 Penn (16–0, 6–0 Ivy, No. 2 Harvard (12–1, 5–1) and No. 3 Trinity — the only opponents so far that have been able to edge out the squad. 

After the match-up against Rochester this weekend, the Yale men’s team will head to Penn for the Potter Cup, which will take place from Feb. 18 to 20. The Yale women’s squash team will travel to Harvard for the Howe Cup, which runs from Feb. 25 to 27. 

Harvard and Penn, both undefeated in the regular season, were also crowned regular season champions in women’s and men’s squash respectively. This is Penn’s first title since 1974 in men’s squash, while it is Harvard’s sixth consecutive one in the women’s category. 

The Yale men’s squash team was last crowned as the top team in the nation in 2016, after a 5–4 win against Rochester. The women’s squash team last clinched a championship in 2011, after an undefeated overall season. However, this year, both teams have the chance to rewrite history and get another shot at glory. 

”As always, we want to position ourselves as high as possible in the national rankings to have the best draw for the year-end team championship,” Leong said. ”The team finishing order determines the final ranking. Both teams strive to stay focused and finish the season strong.” 

Yale has the oldest squash program in the country.