HARTFORD, Conn. — Yale endured its second consecutive loss on Wednesday evening as the Bulldogs fell by a score of 8-1 against No. 2 Trinity.

The defeat culminated a series of matches in which Yale (4-3, 1-1 Ivy) confronted three of the best teams in the country. The Bulldogs bested No. 3 Rochester 6-3 on Saturday, but came up short against No. 1 St. Lawrence (whom Trinity recently defeated) on Sunday. 

Trinity set the tone of the contest early and never looked back, sweeping the first and second waves of matches. One of the better Yale performances in these early stages came from freshman Max Martin. Pitted against Trinity's senior co-captain Moustafa Hamada at No. 6, Martin scrapped out 12-10 and 14-12 wins to give himself a two-game cushion. However, Martin could not come up with the decisive third win, as Hamada took three close matches in succession to claim the victory. 

Another bright spot came in the final match of the day. Sophomore Liam McClintock, playing at No. 4, dropped his first two games to Trinity senior Karan Malik with the Bulldogs already facing an 8-0 deficit. However, McClintock came back to life with a determined 11-4 win in the third game. From there, he fought his way to the finish, taking the final two games 14-12, 13-11 with a dogged effort that ensured Yale would not leave the match empty-handed.

The Elis will hope to bounce back this weekend as they head south for matches against No. 16 Navy and No. 17 George Washington on Saturday.

Report by Evan Brown '16, Yale Sports Publicity