NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale came up short in its attempt to upend the top team in the nation on Wednesday in a match that featured high-quality squash on every court and plenty of tight, dramatic contests.  

Trinity (10-0) jumped out to an early lead, but not without staunch opposition from the hosts. In the end, however, the cushion proved enough to put Yale (6-2, 3-0 Ivy) away by the completion of the sixth match. Despite the closeness of most individual matchups, Trinity finished games off clinically to wrap up the match with an 8-1 win. 

One of the brightest moments on the Yale side of the scoreboard came from sophomore Arjun Kochhar. Flashing his agility in wide-ranging play, Kochhar built a 2-1 lead but struggled in the fourth game. Kochhar, however, rallied to stay alive — at one point unleashing a spectacular diving shot that sent his onlooking classmates into a frenzy — before falling 11-9. In the fifth game, Kocchar sought to ride the momentum and take the win, but found himself trailing 11-10 on match point. Three successful exchanges later, Kocchar had the 13-11 victory. 

Sophomore Thomas Kingshott also pushed his opponent to five games, but the result did not go in his favor despite hotly contested play. 

The first game betwen Yale senior Zac Leman and his Trinity counterpart demonstrated how closely the two squads match up this year. Leman, with a short, powerful stroke, continued to drill the ball deep into tiebreakers as both players failed to convert winning chances. Finally, even at 16, Leman picked up two straight points to emerge with a well-deserved 1-0 lead. 

After a hectic stretch of play, the Bulldogs will have time to regroup before facing George Washington at the Brady Squash Center on Friday, Jan. 29. 

Report by Evan Brown '16, Yale Sports Publicity

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