Brunswick Wins Big Against Rival Haverford

The Bruins toppled the top ranked team in the nation at home on Friday night, 6-1, in front of a big crowd.

Haverford had previously beaten Brunswick by a 4-3 margin in December. The two meetings before that had also ended in 4-3 losses for Brunswick.

The varsity squash team had this date circled on the calendar for a long time, and their hard training showed in a fiery and dominant performance.

Coach Alister Walker said, "That's the result this team needed to put a couple tough losses behind them."

Every member of the lineup brought his A-game, and the Bruins quickly jumped out to an early lead with victories in the #7, #5, and #3 positions.

Anden Boulan, stepping into the lineup as the next man up in the absence of senior captain Cole Cline, played focused and determined squash to win at #7, 3-0.

At # 5, captain Will Newton surgically picked apart his opponent with good touch and control, also winning in three games. The normally stoic Newton was filled with energy as he outworked his opponent, regularly turning to the glass to pump up the crowd on his way to victory.

Oliver Velasco, at #3, won an emotional and grueling hour-long match to put the Bruins one win away from clinching the match. Velasco faced the same Haverford opponent he played in December, when he lost a heartbreaker in five games. To turn the tables at home "took a lot of heart," a beaming Velasco said.

The clinching fourth victory was delivered by Henry Raine at #4 moments after Velasco's match finished, to the delight of the Brunswick fans cheering on.

"That first game was some of the best squash I've ever played," said Raine, who could not be stopped on his way to the win.

"It feels great to beat a good team and break the losing streak against Haverford, but it feels even better seeing the team regain their confidence and positive outlook," said Coach Ryan Abraham.

Thomas Carney also dominated in three games at #6, stepping up a spot in the lineup for the evening. Will Newman likewise won at #2 in four games, playing remarkable squash and putting 'Wick in view of a clean sweep. Such a victory was not to be, however, as Johan Hodgson fell at #1 to one of the country's top players in Andrew Glaser in four games.

All in all though, it was a great night for Brunswick squash, and for all the boys on the team. "We must guard against being complacent and being overconfident," Coach Walker said, "but we are in a good place and need to focus on our mentality for a few more weeks."

'Wick squash is back in action on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m., when they will face a tough test from Taft.

RESULTS: WICK DEF. HAVERFORD 6-1

Johan Hodgson loss to Andrew Glaser 1-3 (7-11, 11-5, 4-11, 7-11)
Will Newman def. Devon Li 3-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5)
Oliver Velasco def. Aiden Chiang 3-2 (11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5)
Henry Raine def. Jamie Stait 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-9)
Will Newton def. Graeme Herbert 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-9)
Thomas Carney def. Xan Matuch 3-0 (11-5, 11-2, 11-5)
Anden Boulan def. Render Ford 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-9)
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I. Edmands def. P. Wu 3-1
J. Pastel def. M. Feigenberg 3-1
J. Chung loss to G. Morgan 2-3
C. Beck def. E. Lee 3-2
E. Lorenz loss to G Oliver 1-3
G. Levy loss to M. Lo 2-3