Two seasons at Cornell. Two All-Ivy selections for sophomore Matt Serediak of the men’s squash team.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” said Serediak, who joins nine other players on the All-Ivy team. “It’s a nice accomplishment. It’s nice for the school to get recognition.”
Serediak earned All-Ivy honors for the second straight year after leading the men’s squash team to an impressive 8-4 regular season. Playing at the No. 1 ladder spot, the Canadian-born Serediak enjoyed wins this season against a number of highly-ranked opponents, including Rob Nigro of Western Ontario, and Rich Repetto of Penn. With Serediak leading the charge, the Red managed to defeat both the Mustangs and the Quakers in overall matches.
“Beating Western and Penn at home were personal highlights. Our whole team came together,” said Serediak
On the heels of those victories, the Red reached as high as No. 5 in the national rankings. The team hoped for continued success at the national championships in late February.
However, Cornell met some tough competition at the tournament. The Red lost a 9-0 match to Yale, as well as losing rematches to Western Ontario and Penn. The team finished the year ranked eighth in the country.
“We were really disappointed,” said Serediak. “We didn’t win the clutch matches. It didn’t come together how we wanted.”
Serediak himself enjoyed a successful tournament, managing to beat two of his three opponents including All-Ivy selection Gilly Lane of Penn.
Trinity College won the overall championship, defeating Harvard 5-4. Trinity has dominated college squash in recent years, as the Bantams have not lost a match in five seasons.
But the Crimson’s close defeat showed that Ivy teams may again be able to return the Potter Cup to the Ancient Eight.
“Harvard challenged Trinity,” said Serediak. “That raises the bar.”
Four Harvard players made the All-Ivy team, including national runner-up Will Broadbent. Yale’s Jullian Illingworth and Anshul Manchanda were also selected.
Rounding out the All-Ivy squad was Ivy League Player of the Year, Yasser El-Halaby of Princeton, Ryan Donegan of Dartmouth, and Gilly Lane of Penn.
Serediak hopes Cornell’s off-season training, in addition to the arrival of four freshmen, will help the team next year.
Serediak noted that training has already begun.
“I hope we stay motivated,” said Serediak.
Archived article by Ted Nyman
Sun Staff Writer