NEW YORK — No. 3 Yale suffered its first loss of the season in its Ivy League opener Saturday afternoon as they fell to No. 6 Columbia in a 5-4 upset that came down to the final match. This was a reversal of Yale's win earlier this year in the Ivy Scrimmages and demonstrates the high caliber of opposition the Bulldogs will face in conference play this season.

Yale's depth gave the team an early edge as the Bulldogs won matches at Nos. 5, 6, 8 and 9 thanks to freshmen Thomas Kingshott, Max Martin, Pierson Broadwater and Arjun Kochhar. However, Columbia (5-1, 2-0 Ivy) swept the top four spots to set up a showdown at No. 7 with the match on the line. Yale captain Joseph Roberts played close the entire time but could not get the better of Columbia's Arhum Saleem, who won 12-10, 11-8, 11-7 to clinch victory for the Lions.

The Bulldogs will have a chance to record their first Ivy League win tomorrow as the road trip continues with a match at No. 7 Cornell that will begin at noon. 

Report by Evan Brown '16, Yale Sports Publicity