It was a “do or die” weekend for the Ephs. The season’s goal was to be ranked in the top 8 by the end of the regular season in order to compete in the Potter Division at nationals in February. #10 Williams needed back-to-back victories over #8 UPenn on Saturday and #9 Dartmouth on Sunday to move qualify for the Potter cup.
Captain Henze along with Freshman Ervasti and
Marks stepped on court first on Saturday. Ervasti came out of the
gates a little slow in his first appearance in the top nine, losing
the first two 11-7, 11-7 to opponent Will Browne. In the third and
fourth, Jack showed real grit and played more aggressively to win
11-9 11-4. Jack couldn’t keep his momentum in the fifth and
dropped 11-4. Though a disappointing result, this trial by fire
gave Ervasti the experience he needed to win his match on
Sunday.
Meanwhile, on court 2, Nick Marks had a dominating performance,
swiftly taking the first and never looking back. He went on to
defeat Akhijesh in three games. Henze put on a real fight against
former junior national champion Trevor McGuinness. Henze, unfazed
by dropping the first game, grinded out a gutsy 11-9 win in the
second game. McGuinness answered with a dominant third game. Henze
battled in the fourth and forced overtime but a bold serve return
nick earned McGuinness match ball, which he was able to convert
with another spectacular nick. Although a disapointing result,
Henze’s effort and heart set an admirable example for the Eph
underclassmen. “Henze really left it all on the court today,
we’re all very proud of him” said teammate Laura
Henry.
The match score was 2-1 when Morris, Drobetsky and Herrmann took
to the courts. It was looking grim on court three after Herrmann
barely lost the first two games. Then Herrmann found a second wind
and took control of the T and won the third decisively. Brooks
Russell didn’t have an answer to Herrmann’s faster pace
and Herrmann marched to win the fourth and fifth. Herm’s
inspired come-from-behind win kept the Eph’s hope alive.
"Herm's the kind of guy you want to have the rock in the fourth
quarter, he just finds a way to win" remarked fellow Junior Will
Gruner. Freshman Drobetsky looked great in the first game; playing
at a faster pace than opponent Drake could handle.
Drobetsky’s power along with his lightning redrops was an
overwhelming combination. Drake answered with a more conservative
pace that took some of the sting out of Drobetsky’s punishing
front-game. Drake took the 2nd and 3rd
without much contest, but Drobetsky made a real stand in the
4th forcing overtime before succumbing to Drake’s
relentless game. Drobetsky had streaks of greatness but lacked the
consistency and the endurance to go the distance.
On court 1 Morris had an incredible performance. Morris put the
pressure on Greenberg early and had the discipline to keep it on
till the final point. Like Herrmann, Morris was able to keep the
Eph hope alive. Tied at 3-3, the match was still up for grabs when
Yaros and Buchsbaum and Gruner went on court. Gruner started slow
and let Clark get ahead in the first game. But then Gruner started
taking the ball earlier and keeping Clark in the corners. It
wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit in the first, which
Clark won 12-10 in overtime, but Gruner’s momentum continued
into the second game which he took 11-8. Clark answered in the
third taking the game 11-5. It looked like it was all over when
Clark shot to a 6-2 lead in the fourth, but Gruner, in a display of
real grit and discipline, executed his game plan and came back to
win the fourth game 11-9. But Gruner must have exhausted all his
reserves to win the fourth game because he lost the fifth 11-4 in
an underwhelming performance.
With UPenn up 4-3 both Buchsbaum and Yaros were against the wall.
Bernard left nothing to chance, shutting down Mohiuddin in straight
sets. Each of the three games was incredibly close but Bernard was
always just a little bit tighter and little smarter in the
stretch. Meanwhile Buchsbaum was battling Mark Froot on court
1. Ethan dropped the first but stormed back to dominate the second.
Then Froot managed to take the third 11-9. Ethan showed some real
toughness and took the fourth in overtime 12-10. Then they had a
back and forth battle in the fifth both Ethan and Mark knowing that
it was all on the line. It was the difference of a tin or two in
the final points of the match that tilted the balance towards
Froot. Losing the big match is always incredibly disappointing, but
it was some consolation that the Ephs didn’t go down without
of fight.
1. Mark Froot (P) def. Ethan Buchsbaum 3-2; 11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8
2. Will Morris (W) def. Danny Greenberg 3-1; 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8
3. Trevor McGuinness (P) def. Christian Henze 3-1; 11-7 9-11 11-3 13-11
4. James Clark (P) def. Will Gruner 3-2; 12-10 8-11 11-5 9-11 11-4
5. Porter Drake (P) def. Julian Drobetsky 3-1 5-11 11-5 11-7 12-10
6. Nick Marks (W) def. Akhijesh Nayak 3-0; 11-6 11-2 11-5
7. Bernard Yaros (W) def. Zuhaib Mohiuddin 3-0; 11-8 12-10 11-9
8. Jeremy Herrmann (W) def. Brooks Russell 3-2; 9-11 9-11 11-6 11-5 11-7
9. William Browne (P) def. Jack Ervasti 3-2; 11-7 11-7 9-11 4-11 11-4
10. Alec Greaves-Tunnell (W) def.
Justin Kim 11-7 7-11 11-7 11-7
The Ephs reformed the line Sunday morning to
face off against perennial rival Dartmouth. On first was Henze,
Marks and Ervasti. After getting the first match jitters out
against Penn on Saturday, Ervasti answered the call and took down
Daniel Wagman in four games. Jack came out of the gates a little
slow dropping the first, but once he got going there was no turning
back. Nothing can compare to the big match experience Jack got this
weekend.
Nick Marks lost a heartbreaker against Brian O’Toole. Marks
lost the first two games but then abruptly turned it around to take
the 3rd in some of the most dominant squash of the day
taking it 11-2. Then he continued the momentum taking the fourth
11-5. Then O’Toole showed real determination and stormed back
to take the fifth game 11-4. Henze played incredibly tough squash
against Maycock. After dropping the first, Henze dug in for a
battle of a second game but Maycock squeaked by winning 14-12 in
overtime. Henze was able to keep up the pressure in the
3rd game and took it with some impressive hustle and
shot making. Maycock had a great fourth game and squelched
Henze’s momentum.
Down 2-1 in the match, Ephmen Herrmann, Drobetsky and Morris took
over. Herrmann played like a champion defeating Ted Schroeder in
five games. Herrmann was a rock all weekend long. Drobetsky played
the match of his season to beat Michael Shrubb in straight sets.
“We always knew he had it in him, it was always a question of
when” said Coach Levy of Drobetsky’s timely win. Morris
lost to the talented Dartmouth number two in straight sets. Tied at
3-3 the match came down to Yaros, Gruner, and Buchsbaum again.
Yaros lost the first game to Dartmouth shooter Luke Lee. But then
in his steady inevitable way, Bernard grinded back to win the next
three games convincingly and put a win and the team’s
aspirations of the Potter division in the hands of Gruner and
Buchsbaum.
Tragically, neither were up to the task. “We all thought
Gruner could do it, he’s had success in these high pressure
situations in the past” said coach Levy. But Gruner, came out
flat and frantic winning a total of three points in the first two
games. Gruner slowed down the pace in the third to force some
errors from Lewis, but it was too little too late and he dropped
the third 11-8. Ethan fought valiantly. He lost the first but
quickly answered, taking the second 11-5. Buchsbaum couldn’t
hold on in the third and fourth and the Ephs left the courts with a
painfully familiar knot in their stomachs.
The Ephs are reeling from the pair of losses, and have focused their sights on the Hoehn cup and a chance to play one of these two teams again.
1. Nick Sisodia (D) def. Ethan Buchsbaum 3-1; 11-6 5-11 11-4 11-7
2. Christopher Hanson (D) def. Will Morris 3-0 11-6 11-5 11-2
3. Robert Maycock (D) def. Christian Henze 3-1; 11-5 14-12 7-11 11-5
4. Michael Lewis (D) def. Will Gruner 3-0; 11-1 11-2 11-8
5. Julian Drobetsky (W) def. Michael Shrub 3-0; 11-8 11-5 11-9
6. Brian O’Toole (D) def. Nick Marks 3-2; 11-7, 12-10, 2-11 5-11 11-4
7. Bernard Yaros (W) def. Luke Lee 3-1; 10-12 11-6 11-2 11-3
8. Jeremy Herrmann (W) def. Ted Schroeder 3-2; 12-10 14-12 9-11 11-13 11-4
9. Jack Ervasti (W) def. Daniel Wagman 3-1; 6-11 11-8 12-10 11-6
10. Alex Kurth (D) def. Alec Greaves-Tunnell 3-2; 9-11 11-6 11-8 6-11 11-8
