We did it. We finished third in the nation; something we knew was achievable but would take a perfect weekend to reach. Well, that’s what we had — a perfect weekend.

The weekend was very close to being a huge disappointment, as we were already 3-4 down against Yale University in the quarterfinals. After Jim Bristow, our co-captain and No. 1, won his match to level the score to 4-4, Matt Domenick took Yale’s Aaron Fuchs to a deciding fifth. Fuchs had been Yale’s No. 1 throughout the season but was for some reason playing at No. 4 this weekend. This meant that Domenick wasn’t expected to win and that he was playing way above himself to take the match into the fifth. Not only did he do that, but he took the fifth 9-0 and clinched a historical semifinal spot for Rochester. Check out the video of the last rally: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2unKwVatFXw.

Princeton was too tough in the semis but us upsetting Harvard 7-2 to become third in the nation is a spectacular result. It could actually be the best result in the school’s history in any sport — after all, we are now ranked third in the nation at any level, not just Division III.

Because of the success, eight of our players have been chosen to compete at the individual championships next weekend! This means that the season is not yet finished and that almost everyone on the team gets a chance to compete against the best in the nation this coming weekend.

One more push before a deserved celebration.