Fordham Squash is entering the new year on a strong foot, after winning three out of five matches to start their opening weekend of 2024. Returning from training camp in the Netherlands, the team had a lot of excitement as they got back to work very quickly.
In a five-game weekend, the Rams took on Brown University’s club team, Connecticut College, Northeastern University, the University of Pennsylvania’s club team and Boston University over the course of three days.
While Fordham had a rocky start, they quickly regained momentum, heading into the back half of the week.
To start, the Rams faced a definitive 0-9 loss, snapping the Rams’ eight-game win streak they had accumulated in 2023. All but one of the matches were clean sweeps by the Brown team, with the third slot featuring sophomore Jack Stanley who pushed his match to a fourth game, but ultimately falling to Dawson Lin, 3-1, by scores of 11-5, 11-2, 11-13 and 11-8.
The Rams struggled in their second match of the weekend as well, against Connecticut, but managed to secure two big victories in the six and eight slots. Junior Robert Cruikshank defeated Alex Lorenzo-Cruz at sixth position, sweeping him with a final match total of 11-7, 11-9 and 11-5. Sophomore Crispin McCarthy saw his ultimate win go to four games, defeating Timothy First at the eight slot.
Facing a doubleheader the next day, the Rams were looking to rebound strong and in their two matches against Northeastern and Penn’s club team, they were able to walk away with two victories.
In the first matches against Northeastern, Fordham locked down six straight wins across six slots, with decisive wins in the first through fifth slots, started by number one position sophomore Nicholas Gilman.
In the six slot, Cruikshank battled it in a dramatic five-game match against Northeastern’s Arjan Trehan, ultimately beating him 11-8, 17-15, 8-11, 8-11 and 11-8.
In the second event of the day against Penn’s club team, the Rams were able to squeak out a win after a long battle. The third through fifth slots, including senior Henry Frawley, sophomore Jack Stanley and freshman Peter Vorbach took hard fought wins.
Later, Nicholas Choo in the eighth position defeated Kunli Zhang 6-11, 11-7, 11-8 and 11-4, giving Fordham the chance to win the day with just one win needed.
Gilman in the first position, leading the Rams, beat Albert Chen in four matches, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10 and 11-5.
Finally, in their final matchup of the week, the Rams were able to get a strong win of their own with an 8-1 victory over Boston University.
Fordham had two thriller comeback wins in the second, third and eighth slots as junior Bennett Van Liew came back after losing his first game, defeating Milan Tahliani 1-11, 12-10, 11-8 and 11-7 in the two slot.
Frawley fell behind two games against Spencer Choice. In five games, Frawley rebounded and took a win, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 and 11-8. Meanwhile, McCarthy struggled in the opening game of his matches against Sean Gregg, later rebounding to win in four games, 9-11, 11-6, 15-13 and 11-6.
Sophomore Gray Kearns added to the Rams winning total as he had a strong showing in the seventh slot, defeating Matthew Liuzza in four games, 11-5, 7-11, 11-1 and 11-6.
Four Rams also secured wins as follows: Nicholas Gilman (first), Peter Vorbach (fifth), Robert Cruikshank (sixth) and Nicholas Choo (ninth).
Now, the Rams are 14-6 on the season, with a two-game weekend incoming for the Rams on Saturday against Drexel University and Dartmouth University’s club teams. Matches against Drexel will start at 10:30 a.m., followed by Dartmouth at 1:30 p.m. at the Lombardi Squash Courts.
