CANTON, N.Y. — Freshman Gustav Runersjö rallied for a marathon victory in five games in the No. 7 match, but the men's squash team couldn't scrounge out another victory in the final rotation to suffer a 5-4 loss to St. Lawrence on Saturday at Robie Squash Center.
The teams were tied at 3 entering the final three matches, but No. 4 St. Lawrence (8-0) was able to counter Runersjö's result with three-game victories at the No. 1 and No.4 positions. Defending national individual champion Amr Khalifa, competing for the first time this season, locked up the match with a win at the top spot.
No. 8 Cornell took an early 2-1 lead on victories from senior
Rishi Jalan and junior
Ryan Todd. While Jalan breezed to a three-game victory at No. 6, Todd had to battle into extra points in three of the four games of his No. 3 tilt before emerging victorious. The Saints fought back to tie the score entering the final three matches, with senior
Bryan Keating (No. 5) providing the Big Red's lone point of the middle rotation in the form of an easy three-game victory. It's just the second time in 10 all-time meetings that the Big Red has lost to St. Lawrence – the first coming by an identical 5-4 score in the consolation semifinals of last year's Potter Cup.
Cornell (4-3) returns to action with four home matches next weekend. The Big Red plays host to Franklin & Marshall and Navy in non-league matches on Friday, then turns its attention to Ivy League play against Harvard on Saturday and Dartmouth on Sunday.
No. 4 ST. LAWRENCE 5, No. 8 CORNELL 4
Saturday's results; at Robie Squash Center; Canton, N.Y.
1. Amr Khalifa (SLU) def.
Nick Sachvie, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6
2. Moustafa Bayoumy (SLU) def.
Aditya Jagtap, 11-2, 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11
3.
Ryan Todd (C) def. Ibrahim Khan, 15-13, 11-8, 12-14, 12-10
4. Vir Seth (SLU) def.
Kevin Flannery, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8
5.
Bryan Keating (C) def. Kyle Ogilvy, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6
6.
Rishi Jalan (C) def. Seb Reidelsheimer, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7
7. Gustav Runersjo (C) def. Anderson Good, 14-12, 9-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-4
8. Chris Fernandez (SLU) def.
Graham Dietz, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9
9. Duncan Maxwell (SLU) def.
Abhijit Malik, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9
Ex. Mateo Vargas (SLU) def.
Harry Freeman, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9
