Ivy titles on line for m., w. squash on weekend trip

With fewer than half of their regular season matches left, the men's (4-1 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) and women's (3-1, 3-1) squash teams are looking to tighten their loosening grip on the Ivy League race this weekend as they travel to take on Dartmouth and Harvard. Both Harvard's men's (4-1, 3-0) and women's (4-1, 3-0) teams are at the top of the league, but Dartmouth's men (11-3, 2-2) and women (8-3, 2-2) are both stuck in the middle of the Ivies.

Currently No. 3 in the Ivy League behind Yale and Harvard, the Tigers need two wins this weekend as well as an Eli loss to the Crimson to reach the Ivy title by way of a three-way tie. Though the Harvard men's squad has been the defending Ivy champion for the past three years, the Princeton women's team boasts the same impressive record.

Similar to this year's situation, the 2002-2003 Ivy champions were decided in the Tigers' last match against Harvard, with the Princeton women and Crimson men coming out on top. The Harvard men defeated the Tigers, 7-2, while the Princeton women dominated the Crimson, 8-1.

This year, however, the Tiger men are hoping to make a much better showing at this critical match against Harvard. Persevering through the loss of four crucial seniors, the squad will look to its young but extraordinarily talented underclassmen.

Sophomore prodigy Yasser El-Halaby, who was the NCAA individual champion last season, is seeded No. 1 on the men's team. Though El-Halaby was on the team when Princeton lost to Harvard last year, he has had more time to mature as a player this year and has recently defeated Yale's Julian Illingworth, who is considered by many pundits to be the best squash player in the league.

El-Halaby is only the tip of a strong team dominated by underclassmen, including freshmen Vincent Yu and Michael Gillman, Nos. 2 and 3 on the squad, respectively.

The women, too, will be looking for their rookies to step up, as five of their top 10 players are freshmen. Sophomore Ruchika Kumar heads up the squad followed by freshmen Claire Rein-Weston and Ali Pearson. Rein-Weston's sister, Annie, who competes in the No. 5 slot, is one of only three seniors on the women's team.

The Harvard women will be returning most of their upperclassman standouts from last season, promising to make this match not only challenging and exciting, but also a display of some of the nation's best squash.

Dartmouth, which was recently defeated by both Harvard and Yale, poses less of a threat to the Princeton regime. Though the Tigers know that they must win this match and cannot go into it with anything less than full intensity, it is the Harvard match that they will be focusing on this weekend.

Though it would be disappointing to lose the Ivy League title, unlike for many other Princeton squads, the squash team does not need to rely on the league title for a berth to the NCAA tournament. Currently seeded No. 4 in the nation, the Tigers certainly have their hopes set on post-season as well as Ivy success.

"The NCAA squash tournament basically is the Ivy League," freshman John Edwards joked. And with Yale and Harvard enjoying their No. 2 and No. 3 spots, it seems to be a fair statement. That is, as long as defending national champions and current No. 1 Trinity, who the Tigers have yet to play, is not overlooked.

Princeton certainly has a long way to go in the struggle not only for the Ivy League title, but for NCAA victory as well. This weekend's matches, especially that against Harvard, are one small but crucial step to achieving these goals.