Following an impressive season last year with a third consecutive Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference title, the No. 5 Virginia men’s squash team (1-0, 1-0 MASC) swept Navy (5-1, 0-1 MASC) Tuesday night at the McArthur Squash Center in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers had 11 players returning from last season including their top six players. However, the top four ladder positions did not play in the match against the Midshipmen.
Junior Drew Barr started the match out on the right foot for Virginia at the ninth position on the ladder, sweeping sophomore Shankar Jambunathan 3-0 and even keeping him from scoring a single point in the second game (11-2, 11-0, 11-2).
Freshman JP Tew made his debut Tuesday in the No. 2 position and has yet to lose a game as a Cavalier. He defeated Navy sophomore Matthew Wang 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-4).
Sophomore Evan Hajeck, senior Tyler Mackesy and sophomore Charles Braff also swept their competition in the first wave of matches. Hajeck’s 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 win over Navy sophomore Lucas Spiro gave Virginia a 5-0 lead, clinching the win for the Cavaliers in their first contest of the season.
With the team win already clinched, the second wave of matches on the five-court system kicked off. Sophomore CJ Baldini’s victory was never in question as he kept Navy junior Henry Sparkman to a total of 13 points in the No. 3 position. Baldini made his collegiate debut last year against Navy and similarly swept his competition during that match.
Junior Maxwell Velazquez and Senior Teddy Durfee similarly claimed victory over their Navy counterparts in 3-0 matches, besting Navy senior Benjamin Balser 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 and Navy freshman Alexander Orr 11-7, 11-5, 11-3, respectively.
Senior Cullen Little suited up at the No. 1 position and defeated senior Millen Randell in the final match of the day. Little’s win was the tightest of the day with Randell capturing the first game before Little eventually prevailed 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9. Although Little lost his first set, it was the only one handed to the Midshipmen for the entire contest.
This match was the fourth consecutive win against Navy and puts the Cavaliers at 4-1 all-time against the Midshipmen.
Virginia men’s squash will return to the McArthur Squash Center Saturday to host No. 4 Yale and Sunday to host No. 9 Columbia.
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