ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's squash team built an early lead against rival Harvard on Sunday, but couldn't hold on before suffering a 5-4 loss at Belkin Squash Courts. Sixth-ranked Cornell (10-4, 3-2 Ivy League) built leads of 3-0 and 4-1, but fourth-ranked Harvard rallied to take the final four matches to wrap up its first victory at Belkin in its last three trips to Ithaca.
 
Freshman Aditya Jagtap got the Big Red started at No. 3. After taking the first two sets, Jagtap took a 8-6 lead in the third set. Harvard's Nicholas Hopcroft tied the match at 8, but Jagtap attacked the ensuing serve to pull back ahead for good and sew up a 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 victory.
 
Junior Rishi Jalen shook off a lobsided loss in the third set of his No. 9 match to close out Jason Michas, 11-9, 12-10, 1-11, 11-8, then junior Owen Butler held off a Nigel Koh rally at No. 6, 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 3-11, 11-3 to give the host Big Red a commanding 3-0 lead after the first wave of matches.
 
The Crimson – which lost its only two matches in its all-time series with the Big Red in its 2008 and 2010 visits to Belkin – got on the board with a straight-set victory at No. 8. After winning the first set at No. 2, senior Thomas Spettigue fell behind 9-2 in the second set before rattling off six straight points. Harvard's Brandon McLaughlin took the next point, but Spettigue fought off a pair of game balls and won two more points to close out the set, 12-10.
 
McLaughlin won the third set and had another game ball in fourth, but Spettigue fought back again to tie the score at 10. After three consecutive lets, Spettigue pulled ahead 11-10, then finished off the match on the next point to give Cornell a 4-1 lead.
 
All eyes shifted to the No. 5 match, which entered a fifth set with Cornell's Arjun Gupta trailing 6-2. But the junior came back, hitting the floor twice to win a point that drew the game even at 8-all. Gupta thwarted the first match ball from Harvard's Tyler Olson, but eventually came out on the short end of a 12-10 finale. The Crimson then dropped just two games in the final three matches to wrap up the match.
 
The Big Red wraps up the regular season next weekend. After a Friday trip to Princeton, Cornell returns home to host its Ivy League finale against Penn at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12. A non-league match against William Smith wraps up the doubleheader in the team's final match before the College Squash Association's National Championships – the Potter Cup – from Feb. 17-19 in Princeton, N.J.
 
#4 HARVARD 5, #6 CORNELL 4
Sunday, Feb. 5
At Belkin International Squash Courts; Ithaca, N.Y.
1. Ali Farag (H) def. Nick Sachvie, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8.
2. Thomas Spettigue (C) def. Brandon McLaughlin, 11-8, 13-11, 4-11, 12-10.
3. Aditya Jagtap (C) def. Nicholas Hopcroft, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8.
4. Gary Power (H) def. Will Hartigan, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-6.
5. Tyler Olson (H) def. Arjun Gupta, 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10.
6. Owen Butler (C) def. Nigel Koh, 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 3-11, 11-3.
7. Julian Kirby (H) def. Ryan Todd, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5, 14-12.
8. Zeke Scherl (H) def. Bryan Keating, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6.
9. Rishi Jalan (C) def. Jason Michas, 11-9, 12-10, 1-11, 11-8.
Ex. Tom Mullaney (H) def. Stephen Stinson, 11-5, 12-10, 11-2.