by Jimmy Sullivan
The Fordham Men’s Squash team won three matches in the Bronx this weekend in their first competitive action of the 2018 calendar year.
The team notched their three victories against Bard University, Colgate University and New York University. The first two matches against Bard and Colgate took place on Saturday while the final match of the weekend against NYU occurred on Sunday.
On Saturday morning, the Rams easily dispatched Bard without so much as losing a match. Six of the nine Fordham players won their matches in straight sets, as did junior Justin Esposito in his exhibition match. The highlights of that one for the Rams were five-set victories by senior Peter Yuen and freshman Griffin Fitzgerald.
With one win already under their belt on the day, Fordham looked to continue their success in their afternoon matchup with Colgate. It is safe to say they did just that.
Even when it did not look like the Rams could be more dominant, they were, as they finished off Colgate without even losing a set. In fact, two Rams, Will Beatrez and Esposito, won their matches by default, as Colgate did not field a player for either of the final two matches of the afternoon. The two wins were indicative of the team’s larger success this season, as they pushed the Rams to 12-2 on the year and extended their winning streak to seven matches. They would look to make that eight straight victories on Sunday against NYU. However, unlike the matches against Bard and Colgate, this would prove to be no easy task.
The two teams went back and forth over the first six individual matches on Sunday, and a three-set victory for NYU’s Shane Fries over Fordham’s Tommy White tied the match at three points apiece. On this day, Fordham would need to win two of its final three matches to earn their eighth straight victory. The team needed some of its best players to step up in the clutch. They did.
Fifth-year senior Joseph Hughes defeated New York’s Michael Kumar in straight sets to give the lead back to Fordham; with the victory, Hughes went to 13-2 on the season havingwon his last eight matches. Next up for Fordham was freshman Justin Deckoff. He played with poise and defeated Paul Yoon in straight sets to clinch another win for the Rams. Despite junior Will Beatrez’s loss in the final match of the day, Fordham won the contest and moved to 13-2 on the season.
The Rams’ next matches are also at home, as they face off against Bryant and Bucknell this Saturday. After that, Fordham has two weeks off before the Northeastern Round Robin, which will take place February 9-11. This tournament will feature Northeastern University, Brandeis University, Boston College, Minnesota University and Boston University. After that, the team will look to the qualify for the College Squash Association national championship, a tournament that features 64 teams. Fordham is currently ranked 36th in the CSA rankings and should make the cut if they continue to play the way they have to this point in the season.
