Ivy League scrimmage victory. Five-Man Team Championship. Ivy League title.
Members of the 2002-2003 men's squash team have seen their fair share of triumphs this year. But the Tigers are by no means content to stop here.
This weekend's tournament remains their last chance to prove their top rank in Ivy League — and perhaps all of collegiate — squash. Princeton (7-1 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) hosts the Intercollegiate Squash Association Team Championships, the determinant of the national champion, at Dillon Gymnasium beginning Friday. After a successful season, the team is optimistic about this weekend's play.
A recap
The Tigers opened the winter season with a victory in November's Ivy League scrimmage. Over the course of the winter, they wiped out half of the teams they played — Brown, Penn, Williams, and Dartmouth — with scores of 9-0. In December, Princeton's top Five-Man team fought to a 4-1 win over Trinity's top five players.
Undoubtedly, the team's greatest achievement so far this season was clinching the Ivy League title. This accomplishment only came to fruition by defeating, among others, strong Yale and Harvard squads.
The Yale match Feb. 1 was the Tigers' toughest all season. With the overall match score tied at 4-4, freshman No. 1 Yasser El Halaby came from being down match point at 0-2 to take the third, fourth, and fifth games, leading his team to a 5-4 victory. In a Princeton Squash Newsletter, head coach Bob Callahan called this win "one of the great collegiate squash matches of all time."
Against Harvard Feb. 9, Princeton had a chance to take top Ivy League honors. Supported by a large home crowd, the Tigers earned a huge victory — closer than the 7-2 score would suggest.
Last weekend's loss to Trinity, however, spoiled Princeton's flawless record. An 8-1 score left the Tigers disappointed — they had hoped to fare much better against the defending national champions.
The team has much to be proud of already. But Princeton now needs to direct all its energy towards its final goals, reaching the championship game and having another shot at defeating Trinity.
The present challenge
As the No. 2 seed going into the ISA Championships, the Tigers first face off against No. 7 Penn, one of the teams they swept earlier in the season. Assuming victory, Princeton will move on to play the the winner of Wednesday evening's Harvard-Yale match, which will prove challenging.
If Princeton advances to the final game, it is almost certain to face Trinity, the nation's best team.
Senior David Yik attested to the strength of this Trinity team, saying "They consistently recruit solid players, especially from overseas. So Trinity's always been a big challenge for us."
For their best chance against the Bantams, the Tigers' top four — El Halaby, No. 2 senior Will Evans, No. 3 Yik and No. 4 senior Dan Rutherford — need to step up and win each of their matches, and the bottom of the lineup — No. 5 senior Eric Pearson, No. 6 junior Aaron Zimmerman, No. 7 sophomore Dent Wilkens, No. 8 sophomore Nathan Beck and No. 9 sophomore Rob Siverd — has to come up with at least one win.
Princeton has every reason to hope for the best if it can play up to its ability. The Tigers would like nothing more than to avenge last weekend's loss. Still, if Princeton simply makes that final match, it will be satisfied.
"We want not to lose to another Ivy League team all year long, and we just want to play better this weekend," Callahan said about the team's goals after the Trinity loss.
This weekend is the last chance to see this year's seniors in action, players belonging to what Callahan has called "one of the great classes in Princeton squash history."
If all goes well for the Tigers, maybe Goliath — this time in the form of the Trinity Bantams — will fall again.
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