Sebring, Gabel bring senior leadership to the court for m. squash

The leaders of the men's squash team are in a unique position this year.

"In individual sports, you pick the top players to be the captains," senior Harrison Gabel said.

But that just happens to not be the case this season for the Tigers.

Senior captains Gabel and Marshall Sebring were elected last spring to be this season's team leaders. The four-year varsity players do not, however, occupy the top spots on the nine-man squad. Sebring plays at No. 7; Gabel is the team's No. 8.

'Excited'

"I think that's really kind of neat about our team," Gabel said. "I was really excited to be elected captain because I've always tried really hard to be disciplined and have a good work ethic and keep trying to be better, but I've never been at the top of the team. So for guys to notice that I've been working hard and wanting me to be captain is really exciting."

"We're not necessarily the top players on the team, but our work ethic was what mattered," Sebring added.

The two captains command a team that is top heavy in youth. Four of the top five spots are occupied by sophomores, the fifth by a junior. This is a change of pace from the way the team makeup has been in previous years.

"This year the best players are younger players, while my freshman year the top players were all upperclassmen," Gabel said.

When Sebring was a freshman, he and Peter Yik '00 were the only two players who were not juniors or seniors in the top 14. With such a large contingent of upperclassmen who would be graduating shortly, it made it more difficult for the team to gel.

That wasn't a problem for this year's team, which had the opportunity to travel to England during last season's fall break to train and prepare for the upcoming season.

"We went to London last year and that really brought the team together," Gabel said. "Ten days together, traveling around England, playing more squash than you could ever imagine playing, we developed sort of a dynamic that way."

That team unity helped the Tigers win their first Ivy League championship last season since 1982. Dethroning 10-year champion Har-vard in a 5-4 contest, Gabel described the match as the defining point in his squash career.

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Having faced his Crimson opponent before in collegiate play, the No. 8 had never been able to come away with a victory - until that all-important Ivy League matchup last February.

"I got so fired up for that match," Gabel said. "I was sort of expected to lose, so to be able to pull through was great."

Gabel took the much-needed match in four games, providing the huge win in Princeton's narrow triumph over Harvard.

The two captains have come a long way in their squash careers.

Both started off playing very young, and both had family members that were also involved with squash.

Sebring started playing when he was 11 along with his older brother, Harrison Sebring '98. When Marshall was a freshman on the team, the elder Sebring was a senior.

"The only time I ever got mentioned in the 'Prince' was because I was his little brother," Sebring joked. "It was fun being on the team with him, but it was also nice moving out of his shadow."

Gabel started his squash career at the age of five. While starting off on the tennis courts, the tennis coaches at the local athletic club turned out to know more than tennis - they were world championship squash coaches. Gabel and his coaches soon made the switch, and by age eight he was playing in tournaments.

"I've never met someone who after they've tried playing squash didn't like it," Gabel said.

The two captains, by bringing together their love of the game, discipline and great work ethic, hope to lead the Tigers to a second-straight Ivy League title.