M. squash eyes redemption at ISA Individual Champs

Jesus of Nazareth, Yasser El Halaby and King Charlemagne the Great. What do they have in common? They all have six syllables in their name.

And they're all ranked first in the respective fields of their time.

This weekend, 64 men chosen by the coaches from the eight participating colleges and universities will compete with one another for the Intercollegiate Squash Association Individual Championship at Trinity College. The competition will consist of five games for each player stretched over a period of three days — two on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. The top 32 play one another in the Main Draw and the bottom 32 play one another in the Consolation Draw.

Although the seeds have not been posted as of yet, it is not difficult for those of us who have been following men's squash this season to guess who will be at the top.

Freshman Yasser El Halaby, currently ranked first at the college level and ranked 63rd in the nation will be the number one seed at the ISA Championship. Right behind him will probably be last year's champion, Trinity's sophomore Bernardo Samper.

In fact, Samper was ranked number one at the beginning of the season, but he quickly lost this spot when El Halaby beat him, 3-1, in the National Five-Man Title. Samper clambered his way back up to number one in the college rankings after a 3-0 win over El Halaby during the regular season. He did not stay long, however. Just one week later, at the Finals of the ISA Team Championship, El Halaby avenged this loss by beating Samper, 3-0. This was enough to put him back on top once again.

"I am confident that if I play well, I will have a very good chance in the tournament," El Halaby said.

Other contenders from Princeton in the Main Draw will be seniors Will Evans and David Yik, who was the ISA individual champion two years ago. Both will probably be ranked in the top five.

Yik and Evans, combined with seniors Dan Rutherford and Eric Pearson, formed a powerful quartet during the regular season and have the potential to do very well this weekend. In their time here, they have helped Princeton secure the Ivy League Championship three times. Earlier in the season, El Halaby, Yik, Evans, Rutherford and Pearson propelled the Tigers to victory in the National Five-Man Championship. But despite having arguably the best team in Princeton's 70 plus year history, the Tigers will have to work hard to keep up the same level of play that they've had all season. Trinity's Julian Illing-worth and Michael Farreira will probably be ranked fifth and sixth respectively and should not be ignored. But, if they compete at the level they have in the past, any of the Tigers' top three — El Halaby, Evans and Yik — have a good chance at making a run for the title.

"This weekend will be a great opportunity for us to show how deep Princeton's top three are," Yik said.

Harvard and Yale will both be sending in some tough opponents as well. During the regular season, the Tigers triumphed over both the Crimson, 7-2, and the Elis, 5-4. Hardly easy victories, but the same three players who made those victories possible are going to the Main Draw.

Another obstacle might be the way Princeton has been suffering from injuries this season. Rutherford has had trouble with a bad back, and Pearson has had his ribs damaged. Over the regular season, head coach Bob Callahan has been able to rest these two off and on to keep them in good health for future games. However, at the ISA, he will not have this luxury. They will have to combat the fatigue that will surely set in due to these past injuries during the five games between Friday morning and Sunday afternoon.

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Joining Rutherford and Pearson in representing the Tigers in the Consolation Draw will most likely be sophomore Dent Wilkins, sophomore Nathan Beck, and junior Aaron Zimmerman.

The general opinion is that the number one spot will come down to a battle between Samper and El Hallaby. After speaking with coach Callahan, though, it would be a mistake to rule out either Yik or Evans as both are very experienced players.

"Yasser would like to win, Will would like to get to the finals and I know Yik would love to finish up strong," Callahan said.

So the question is not whether Princeton will take the individual title or not, but, rather, whether Samper is strong enough to prevent an-all Princeton finish. For the Tigers, winning an individual championship might redeem the loss of the team championship.