After achieving a no. 1 national ranking earlier this season and taking down top-ranked Trinity College, UR Squash hoped to make a historic run, including winning the team’s first national championship.
But over the weekend, it ended up winning only the postseason consolation bracket.
The team, entering the weekend as the no. 4 seed, traveled to Harvard University to compete in the Potter Cup, the most selective and competitive postseason tournament draw in the College Squash Association. To begin the tournament, UR faced the no. 5 seed and in-conference rival, St. Lawrence University (SLU).
For the second time this season, the Yellowjackets fell to SLU with a final score of 6–3. The loss prevented UR from being able to play for the national championship. UR’s three wins came for senior co-captain Ryosei Kobayashi, senior Mario Yanez Tapia, and junior co-captain Tomotaka Endo.
Upon losing in the first round of the tournament, the Yellowjackets were placed in the consolation bracket to compete for fifth place. In the semifinals of this bracket, UR faced off against the University of Pennsylvania. The Yellowjackets outplayed the Quakers, winning the match with a score of 6–3. The win was rooted in strong performances from the top of the team’s lineup, with wins coming from all positions 1-5, in addition to a win from Aria Fazelimanesh at no. 8. The match win moved the Yellowjackets to the consolation finals to compete against Drexel University.
UR was able to continue its momentum from the previous match, against Drexel, where they went on to win 7–2.
In the main draw, Harvard University and Trinity College each won their respective semifinal matches, setting up a final match between the tournament’s top two seeds. In the finals, Trinity went on to defeat Harvard with a final score of 5–4 to secure the Potter Cup.
Overall, the Yellowjackets will leave the tournament still searching for their first Collegiate Squash Association nationship championship after finishing fifth this season. The team was able to accomplish its first top-ranking during the season. Select Rochester team members will go on to compete in individual tournaments in the upcoming weeks.
