The last time the Trinity men’s squash team lost a match, President Clinton was denying he had sexual relations with an intern and Michael Jordan was midway through his final season with the Chicago Bulls. Since that loss to Harvard on Feb. 22, 1998, Trinity won 252 consecutive matches, including 13 national championships — the longest winning streak in college sports history. But The Streak, as it is known in squash circles, came to an end in New Haven on Wednesday when Yale downed Trinity, 5-4.

“I was just relieved,” said the Yale senior John Roberts, who won the night’s final, deciding match at the No. 4 spot. “I had to relax for a second before I could take it in.”

The outcome was not as astonishing as it might seem. Last year, Trinity edged Yale, 5-4, for the national championship and then graduated four senior starters. Although the team brought in a few highly regarded recruits this month — January admittances are a recruiting advantage the Ivies do not have — Trinity’s roster appeared vulnerable, said the Yale captain Ryan Dowd, who won at No. 5.

“I told our guys I liked our chances at every spot on the ladder,” he said.

Before Wednesday, Trinity Coach Paul Assaiante had said that when his team lost it would not be because squash standards had dipped at the college, it would be because Trinity’s competitors had risen to the challenge. “That’s certainly the case of what happened at Yale,” he said. “There’s a lot more parity, and four or five schools have a shot at the championship this year.”