Despite high hopes upon entering the tournament, the men’s squash team suffered a series of disappointing losses at this season’s Potter Cup Championship. The Red — seeded fifth behind Trinity, Harvard, Princeton and Yale — lost 7-2 in the quarterfinals to the Bulldogs and subsequently entered the consolation bracket, where it finished in eighth place.
“It was disappointing, to say the least,” senior co-captain Nick Sachvie said. “We worked hard this year and proved to be one of the best teams in the country. We obviously didn’t play our best this weekend, and when it comes down to it, Nationals is where everything counts the most. It was a painful way to end the season.”
In its loss to fourth-seeded Yale Friday, the Red’s two victories came from Sachvie and junior Bryan Keating in the No. 1 and No. 7 positions respectively. This marks the second time Sachvie has defeated Yale’s top player Kenneth Chan. The first was in the regular season matchup where Cornell was defeated, 8-1.
In the consolation semifinals, the Red took on eighth-seeded St. Lawrence Saturday who lost to first-seeded Trinity Friday. The match resulted in a 5-4 upset, giving St. Lawrence its first ever victory against Cornell.
Finally, on Sunday, the Red took on seventh-seeded Franklin and Marshall. After the first rotation, the Red was up 2-1 against the Diplomats, thanks to victories from sophomore Michael Sunderland and Keating. Sophomore Ryan Todd and senior co-captain Owen Butler earned Cornell its third and fourth points, but Franklin and Marshall came out on top, winning the two final matches for an end score of 5-4.
“After we lost to Yale and St. Lawrence, we knew we had a lot of pressure on us, and it was a do or die situation,” Sachvie said. “It was our last match of the season so we were trying to push through the exhaustion and get a win. We obviously came up short, and Franklin & Marshall won a few close games that could have gone either way.”
The team finished the season with a 16-6 record. Sachvie described the team’s overall success, citing its win against first seeded Princeton in the last weekend of regular play.
“We had some highs and lows, but we finished off with a better season than last year with that extra win against Princeton,” he said. “Coach Mark Devoy did a great job leading us and getting us prepared, but when you’re on the court, it’s all in your hands to decide the outcome of the match. Hopefully, the results of these championships will motivate the team for next year and they can recover from an eighth place finish.”
Next weekend, qualifying players from the Cornell men’s and women’s teams will play at Individual Championships at Trinity College.
Original Author: Katie Schubauer