report from www.collegesquash.com

Michael played Julian Illingworth, Yale’s number one male player and seeded to reach the final. Michael immediately showed he has the game to put immense pressure on the talented Yale sophomore. Illingworth, who was not sharp at the outset, ran into a focused buzz saw in Ferreira, whose accuracy was totally on target, allowing him to jump on every Illingworth loose ball.

Ferreira ran to a fast 9-5 first game lead, and then an almost unbelieveable 9-0 second game against Illingworth. Ferreira continued to take advantage of Illingworth mistakes, steadily moving to a 2-0 7-2 lead; at which point his game plan tragically changed — he began looking to close out the points too quickly, and began clipping the top of the tin. In the third, it wasn’t that Illingworth really became inspired, though he did become steady as a rock and determined. It was a series of Ferreira mistakes that brought Julian steadily back into the game.

Once Ferreira had let Illingworth back in, at 7-7 in the third, Illingworth took charge. He closed out the third and gained more and more advantage throughout the fourth, as he closed out his near escape, 5-9, 0-9, 9-7, 9-7, 9-1.