NEW HAVEN, Conn. — V. Luke Park II rallied for a five-game victory from the No. 6 position and the men's squash team jumped into an early lead at on Friday before St. Lawrence surged late and avert the upset bid with a 5-4 victory over Cornell in the quarterfinals of the Hoehn Cup at Brady Squash Center.
 
St. Lawrence (6-7) came from behind to win at the No. 2 position while closing out a three-game decision at No. 4 to tie the score at 4. That put the match on the shoulders of the No. 1 match, where St. Lawrence's Mohamed El Gawarhy won in three.
 
The lower portion of the ladder had the most success for Cornell (4-12), which got off to a quick start. Senior Jared Scherl cruised to a three-game victory at No. 9 to win his fifth match in his last six times out. Park closed out his win at No. 6 to give the Big Red a 2-1 lead after the opening rotation.
 
The momentum stayed with the 14th-ranked Big Red in the middle rotation with a pair of victories from freshmen. Nikhil Arjunan Iyer came back to win in four at No. 8, and Nicholas Göth Errington won in three at No. 5 to put Cornell on the brink of an upset – but the 11th-ranked Saints ultimately came back to win.
 
With the loss, Cornell will play against Western Ontario at 11 a.m. Saturday in the consolation semifinals of the Hoehn Cup — which is the College Squash Association's 'B' Division national championship.
 

ST. LAWRENCE 5, CORNELL 4

National rankings: St. Lawrence 11, Cornell 14
At Brady Squash Center; New Haven, Conn.
1. Mohamed El Gawarhy (S) def. Andy Muran, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9
2. Karim Ibrahim (S) def. Charles Culhane, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-5
3. Belal Nawar (S) def. Perry Hanson, 8-11, 11-1, 9-11, 11-9, 15-13
4. Enzo Corigliano (S) def. Illia Presman, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7
5. Nicholas Göth Errington (C) def. Geroge Willis, 11-4, 11-9, 11-7
6. V. Luke Park II (C) def. Youssef Fikry, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9
7. Kareem Elrayes (S) def. Yohann Surti, 13-11, 11-6, 11-6
8. Nikhil Arjunan Iyer (C) def. Derek Ng, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5
9. Jared Scherl (C) def. Aran Thawani, 11-3, 11-3, 11-4
Ex. James Paolella (C) def. Cameron Warren, 11-2, 11-1, 11-5