NEW YORK — The No. 6 Columbia men's squash team suffered its second defeat of the weekend in falling to No. 5 Yale, 7-2, Sunday afternoon at the SL Green StreetSquash Center.
 
Things looked promising for Columbia (6-3, 0-2 Ivy) at the beginning as Velevan Senthilkumar started off the match in victory. The senior improved his dual record in the No. 1 position to 3-2 with a decisive, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3, sweep over Yale's (6-0, 2-0 Ivy) Harrison Gill.
 
A win at No. 7 leveled the score for Yale, but a comeback in the No. 4 match gave the Bulldogs all the momentum they would need to carry out the rest of the match. After Columbia's Harold Castiaux won his first two games over Siow Yee Xian, 11-5, 11-9, and earned match ball in the third game, Yee Xian stormed back to take the third game, 13-11, and rallied all the way back to win the fourth and fifth games, 11-4, 11-3, to put Yale on top.
 
A sweep at No. 9 and a four-game win at No. 3 had the Bulldogs ahead, 4-1, and they went on to clinch when Maxwell Orr defeated Adam Goad, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9, from the No. 5.
 
The Lions were able to come away with one more point despite the team result already being decided. Competing at No. 8, senior Justin Ghaeli upped his dual record to 6-1 on the season with an 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 win over Merrit Wurts.
 
Columbia hopes to rebound when it hits the road next weekend for a pair of Ivy matches. The Lions are set to take on No. 2 Harvard (6-1) on Saturday in Cambridge, followed by No. 11 Dartmouth (3-4) Sunday in Hanover, New Hampshire.

For the latest on the Columbia squash programs, be sure to follow the teams on Twitter and Instagram (@CULionsSquash), on Facebook (Facebook.com/CULionsSquash), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.