PHILADELPHIA – With the final match clinching it, the Tufts University men's squash team fell to the Navy Midshipmen 5-4 in the Summers Cup final at the College Squash Association (CSA) National Team Championships at the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday.
The Jumbos started out the day strong, going 2-1 in their first three matches, winning at both the #4 and #9 spots. Junior Sanjeev Jeyabalan (pictured) won three straight games in the #4 spot against Navy's Ben Korn after dropping the first set to take an 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 victory, while senior Konrad LaDow swept his opponent, Benjamin Balser, quickly in the #9 spot 11-1, 11-3, 11-5.
Navy went on to win the next three matches by 3-1 scores in the #7, #5 and #3 spots to take a 4-2 lead, but Tufts responded in the next two games with two 3-1 victories of their own from Dillon O'Shea in the #8 match and Marco Rodriguez in the #6 match. Both O'Shea and Rodriguez won their first sets, lost their second then won two in a row to take the match victories and tie team score at 4-4 going into the final match.
The final match was a battle between #2 players where Navy's Millen Randell clinched the 5-4 victory for the Midshipmen, defeating Tufts' Kunal Valia 11-5, 11-3, 13-11. The third set of the match was hard-fought, as Randell had multiple match points with Valia tying it up more than once but falling just short.
The Summers Cup finals appearance for the Jumbos ties their best performance at the CSA Team National Championships since 2008 when they also lost in the finals. With their performance this weekend, the Jumbos are likely to earn a top 20 national ranking for the 2021-22 season. They entered at #22.
Next up for the Jumbos is the CSA National Collegiate Individual Championships from March 4-6.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
