No. 2 Yale Falls 6-3 To No. 1 Trinity In National Title Match
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 2 Yale Bulldogs lost 6-3 to No. 1 Trinity on Saturday at the Brady Squash Center as the Bantams captured their record twelfth consecutive national championship.
The Bulldogs played a strong match throughout the ladder, but in the end the Bantams proved too strong to dethrone. After the first shift had been completed, Trinity held a 2-1 advantage thanks to wins at the No. 3 and 6 positions. Yale junior Christopher Plimpton picked up the first win of the day for the Elis, defeating Reinhold Hergeth in a thrilling five-game match.
In the second shift of play, the Bulldogs were able to pick up one more victory, with sophomore John Roberts earning a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Randy Lim at No. 5. However, Trinity secured victories in the No. 8 and 2 matches, giving the Bantams a 4-2 lead overall.
The Bantams needed only one victory out of the three remaining matches, and senior Baset Chaudhry delivered, winning 3-0 over Yale freshman Kenneth Chan at the No. 1 position. Freshman Hywel Robinson managed to defeat Trinity's Vikram Malhotra 3-1 at No. 4, but the championship had already been decided.
The victory garnered Trinity its twelfth national championship in a row, continuing an unprecedented run of dominance. The Bantams have now won 224 consecutive matches dating back to 1998.
Despite the loss, this year's Bulldogs put together one of the top campaigns in recent Yale memory. The Elis finished the season with only two losses (both to Trinity) while capturing the Ivy League title. Though the Bulldogs will be losing some key players to graduation - most notably Aaron Fuchs and captain Todd Ruth - the team should be a championship contender again next season.
Before Sunday's championship match, it was announced that Yale won the 2010 Barnaby Award, presented to the most improved team in the country each season.
With the team season concluded, individual Bulldogs will next compete in the CSA Singles tournament beginning Mar. 5 at Trinity's Kellner Squash Center.
| Trinity College | Yale University | Winner's Score | Winner | |
| 1S | Chaudhry,Baset | Chan,Kenneth | 11-6,11-8,11-4 | Trinity College |
| 2S | Sharma,Parth | Ruth,Todd | 11-9,11-5,11-9 | Trinity College |
| 3S | Singh,Supreet | Fuchs,Aaron | 11-9,11-5,11-9 | Trinity College |
| 4S | Malhotra,Vikram | Robinson,Hywel | 2-11,11-9,11-7,11-7 | Yale University |
| 5S | Lim,Randy | Roberts,John | 5-11,11-9,11-5,11-8 | Yale University |
| 6S | Diaz Glez,Antonio | Lalwani,Naishadh | 11-9,11-6,11-4 | Trinity College |
| 7S | Binnie,Christopher | Dodd,Richard | 12-14,14-12,11-9,10-12,11-8 | Trinity College |
| 8S | Vargas,Andres | Berner,Robert | 11-4,11-7,11-7 | Trinity College |
| 9S | Hergeth,Reinhold | Plimpton,Christopher | 11-5,11-2,10-12,7-11,11-8 | Yale University |
report filed by Alex Milvae '12, Yale Sports Publicity
Video highlights by Sam Dorward '13, Yale Sports Publicity: