Princeton splits pair

Both the men's and women's squash teams dismantled Dartmouth in Jadwin Gym on Saturday, but neither team could repeat that success the following day against Harvard.

Princeton's men's team fell behind, 3-1, against the Crimson (6-1 overall, 5-0 Ivy League), last year's national finalists. The Tigers (6-3, 3-3) got two games back easily on straight-game wins from junior No. 1 Yasser El Halaby and freshman No. 9 Scott Callahan. Freshman No. 5 Tom McKay won to balance out another Harvard victory, knotting the team score at 4-4. Senior No. 7 Rob Siverd then played the deciding match. He took his opponent, Chessin Gertler, to a critical fifth game, but the upset bid fell just short as Gertler pulled out the final game by a 9-5 score.

The women (9-2, 4-2) pressed the Crimson (7-0, 5-0) as well, including impressive five-game wins from three freshmen. No. 4 Lena Neufeld was able to come back from two games down to pull out a victory. Fellow freshman No. 6 Margaret Kent fell behind, 2-1, before mustering a 3-2 win, and No. 7 Carly Grabowski rounded out the scoring for the Tigers. But unlike last year, when Princeton upset Harvard ,5-4, the Tigers could not get over the hump. Princeton fell in its other six matches, and Harvard escaped with the 6-3 victory.

It had been a completely different story a day earlier against the Big Green. In the women's contest against Dartmouth (7-4, 2-3), the team dropped only two matches. Five of the seven Tiger victories came in straight games, and Neufeld and sophomore No. 8 Anina Nolan captured 3-1 wins.

The men were on fire as well, winning, 8-1. They tore through the Big Green (6-5, 0-5) with relative ease, losing only seven games all afternoon. Sophomore No. 6 Vincent Yu, Siverd, sophomore No. 8 Brendon Bascom and Callahan all won in straight games. The other three games were secured without having to go to a decisive fifth. Freshman No. 2 Robert Hong and sophomores No. 3 Michael Gilman and No. 4 Preston Comey dropped one game apiece.

Suprisingly, El Halaby was at the receiving end of the team's only loss. He was uncharacteristically lethargic following two straight sleepless nights associated with Bicker.

The Tigers host Trinity next weekend at Jadwin. The Bantam men's team, a traditional powerhouse and the current No. 1 in the nation, has given Princeton trouble in the past. This history includes their most recent meeting in last year's Potter Cup, which Princeton lost, 8-1. Trinity currently has a 121-game winning streak, the longest in NCAA sports, dating back to the 1997-98 season.

The Trinity women, with a roster chock full of international stars, are no slouches either. The Bantams have dropped only one individual match in their last three outings, including 9-0 victories over Cornell and Bowdoin. They dropped the lone match in an 8-1 victory over Bates.