Squash teams are headed in opposite directions

While their classmates were skiing, traveling, and sleeping past noon, members of both squash teams were hard at work battling top national competition.

Men's and women's squash scheduled several important matches over intersession. The Tiger men took on Penn, Yale, and Williams, while the women faced these three schools and Amherst as well.

Struggling women

In women's squash, a victory and three losses dropped the Tigers to 5-4 overall, with a 2-2 Ivy League record.

The Princeton women started off the week playing in the Constable Tournament, an individual tournament held at Jadwin Gymnasium. No. 1 Ruchika Kumar did not play due to illness, but the rest of the squad was able to work on its game over the weekend by competing against players from across the nation.

The women's first non-tournament match last week promised to be a close one. Princeton played a deep Penn team (9-2, 3-1). The Quakers' top three players took their matches from Kumar, No. 2 Patricia Gadsden, and No. 3 Annie Rein-Weston. Though the Tigers' Nos. 4 through 6 — Frances McKay, Anne Warner, and Frances Comey — all won their matches in three games, Penn's depth proved to be the difference in the match. No. 7 Rebecca Shingleton, No. 8 Jen Shingleton, and No. 9 Casey Degen fell to their opponents, resulting in a 6-3 Quaker victory.

The Tiger women next traveled to New Haven, Conn., to compete against Yale. The Bulldogs, always tough competition, kept up their reputation. Princeton could not take a single game from Yale on its way to a 9-0 loss. Beginning with this match, the Tigers were missing Rein-Weston to a semester overseas.

The team then took on Williams and Amherst on Sunday. The first match against Williams did not go the Tigers' way. A narrow 5-4 loss was frustrating for Princeton, but the team was still able to go into its second match strong. The Tigers finished a rough week with a solid 9-0 victory over Amherst.

"We had some tough losses," coach Gail Ramsay said, "but I felt like the team wasn't distracted from continuing to improve on its game."

Men still undefeated

Men's squash came out of the week with three big wins. Princeton fared equally well against Ivy League and non-league competition.

The Tiger men (5-0, 4-0) eased into 2003 with a 9-0 win over Penn. The highlight of this victory was a shutout by Princeton's No. 2 Will Evans — he overpowered his opponent for a 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 win.

The men's next match was one of their toughest and most exciting so far this season. Yale, typically a fierce opponent, put up an excellent fight, but Princeton refused to let up. The bottom of the Princeton lineup — No. 6 Aaron Zimmerman, No. 7 Dent Wilkens, No. 8 Nathan Beck, and No. 9 Rob Siverd — fell to their Bulldog opponents. But hard-earned victories from Evans, No. 3 David Yik, No. 4 Dan Rutherford, and No. 5 Eric Pearson tied the match score at 4-4.

The match came down to the two No. 1 players: Princeton's Yasser El-Halaby and Yale's Julian Illingworth. Illingworth took the first two games and seemed poised for a 3-0 victory to give Yale the win. But down 8-4 in the third game, El Halaby fought back to win the next 6 points to keep himself and his team alive. He rode the ensuing momentum from the third game to win the next two, resulting in a 3-2 comeback victory for himself as well as a 5-4 victory for his team.

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"There was a lot of pressure, as I could not afford to lose my match," El-Halaby said. "I just knew I couldn't lose that match and hung in there for the comeback."

Though the next day's Williams match was not nearly as exciting, Princeton was happy to add another win to its record. Only one Tiger dropped a game during the match as Princeton went on to a 9-0 victory.

For women's squash, intersession brought about several disappointing losses and one victory. For men's squash, it brought about three wins — two fairly easy and one not-so-easy. But each team is approaching the rest of the season with the same optimistic attitude.