Elis top Princeton

The blizzard that blanketed the East Coast with snow over intersession had a rival in ferocity: Princeton's squash teams.

Battling poor travel conditions, injuries and post-exam fatigue, Princeton's squash teams fought their way to a split record in Ivy League competition over the break.

The men's team defeated Penn, 6-3, this past Wednesday, and the women routed the Quakers by the impressive tally of 9-0, with all nine wins coming in three games.

"It was really big to beat Penn as far as getting a good seeding for the national championships this March," freshman No. 5 Tom McKay said.

The Tigers, however, ran up against a wall against Yale on Saturday, with both teams losing by scores of 8-1. The women were swept, 3-0, in seven of their nine matches, while the men played a bit closer, with six of their nine matches lasting at least four games.

Yale's men's and women's teams are both currently undefeated and No. 1 in the Ivy League. The women's team is the defending national champion.

Injuries on both the men's and women's squads were a key factor in their losses to Yale. Ealier this year, the Tiger women lost freshman Casey Riley to an ACL tear, as well as sophomore Ali Pearson.

The men's team has suffered even more severely from injuries, with sophomore Brendan Bascom on the disabled list. Also, fellow sophomores No. 3 Michael Gilman and No. 6 Parker Sutton are coming off injuries.

Despite all the setbacks, the younger members of both of Princeton's squash teams came out in force over intersession. On the women's team, seven of the nine wins against Penn were captured by freshmen or sophomores.

Moreover, two freshmen led the charge against the Elis. Freshman No. 7 Carly Grabowski gave the women their only win against Yale, and McKay did the same for the men.

Playing at the No. 2 position, freshman Robert Hong helped pull off the win with an impressive five-game win over Penn's former No. 1, Richard Repetto. Four of the Tigers' six wins against the Quakers came from freshmen or sophomores.

While not quite as young as many of his teammates, junior Yasser El Halaby also turned in strong performances. The two-time defending national champion dominated his Penn No. 1 opponent, Gilly Lane, by a combined score of 27-4 in three games, shutting him out completely in the last two.

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Against Yale's No. 1, Julian Illingworth, El Halaby fought to a fifth game before losing the fifth and final match.

Outside of the Ivy League, El Halaby led the Tigers to 9-0 routs of both Williams and Amherst, allowing only three points in six games on Sunday. His performance was mirrored across the board for Princeton, with the vast majority of match wins for each player coming in three games.

The women's squad also swept both schools' teams. Freshman Lena Neufeld, playing at the No. 2 position for the Tigers, pulled out a key five-game win against her Amherst opponent, Clare Whipple, to complete one sweep.

The Tigers were quick to demonstrate their competitive fire after falling to the Elis, a turnaround that bodes well for their upcoming home matches against league opponents Dartmouth and Harvard.

"It's going to be so exciting," freshman No. 4 Christina Fast said. "We'll bring our best game and really go all out."

The men will also face Dartmouth on Saturday and Harvard on Sunday. Currently, they are tied for third in the Ivy League with Penn. Harvard and Yale are tied for first.

The Crimson and the Elis are also tied for first in the women's squash division in the Ivy League, with Princeton close behind them in third place.

With one loss on its record, the women's squad may still be in the chase for the championship; the men's two losses make their chances more remote. However, both teams are young, particularly the women's team, and it seems a bright future is in store for Princeton's squash program.

"We have a really young team, and we're not going to lose [many of our top players] in the next few years," Riley said.