The gauntlet of the University of Rochester squash team's schedule to begin the first semester of matches concluded on Sunday afternoon in a 9-0 loss to Princeton University at the Lyman Squash Center.
 
Princeton (3-0) entered Sunday as the #3 team in the current College Squash Association poll, with Rochester (1-3) ranked #10). In UR's first four matches to start the 2021-22 season, the Yellowjackets have played Hobart, #1 Penn, #2 Harvard and now #3 Princeton.
 
Despite the shutout on the team scoreboard, the Yellowjackets held their own in a number of matches throughout the day.
 
Princeton earned early wins by 3-0 scores at #4 and #9 to jump ahead in the early going.
 
The other match of the first wave was #3 between UR's Yash Fadte and Princeton's Karim Elbarbary. After Elbarbary opened with an 11-7 win, Fadte, Rochester's lone winner in Saturday's match against Penn, took the next two sets to edge ahead 2-1. The fourth set was tight throughout, with Elbarbary squeezing out an 11-9 win to force the tiebreaking fifth game. In the fifth, Elbarbary raced out to an 8-2 lead. Fadte picked off a few points trying to get back into it, but the Princeton sophomore earned the win following a terrific backhand nick to win the match 11-7.
 
While the marathon match at #3 was finishing up, Princeton earned another 3-0 win at #8 to go ahead 4-0. Daelum Mawji then clinched the match for the Tigers with a 3-0 sweep of Abdelrahman Lasheen at #2, winning 11-6, 11-3 and 11-9.
 
The match at #6 was another evenly contested battle between Emilio Carrillo and Howe Cheng. The opening game was back-and-forth, with Cheng taking the lead in extra points 12-10. In the second, Carrillo showed toughness in winning 11-6 to square the match at 1-1. The third featured several tremendous rallies, a many which ended in lets, with Cheng ultimately earning an 11-5 win. Carrillo in the fourth was unable to force a final game, with Cheng winning 11-7 to clinch the point.
 
After a 3-0 win at #7 put Princeton up 7-0, Omar Zakaria and Thomas Rosini played a marathon opening game at #5, with Rosini winning 16-14. The Princeton player parlayed that momentum into the next two sets, winning 11-4 and 11-3 to seal the victory.
 
At #1, UR's Cesar Segundo, who squared off with 3-time All-American Andrew Douglas of Penn on Saturday, was tasked with another monumental opponent in 2-time All-American Youssef Ibrahim on Sunday. The match was a display of excellent squash throughout, including tremendous shots and outstanding retrievals by both players. Ibrahim won in four tight games, 11-8, 11-7, 7-11 and 11-7 to complete the Princeton shutout.
 
Rochester is now off for the holiday break and are scheduled to return to action in mid-January with a home matchup against Dartmouth.