Tigers win four contests

The No. 2 men's squash team rolled through its New England road trip this weekend, defeating No. 11 Brown and No. 8 Williams in convincing fashion. The Tigers (4-0 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) have compiled an impressive individual record of 34-2 in their first four matches.

In Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Princeton took control early and never looked back. Leading the onslaught was sophomore No. 2 Kimlee Wong, who closed his match without surrendering a single point, and fellow sophomores, No. 1 Mauricio Sanchez and No. 3 Hesham El Halaby, who also posted decisive victories. When the final tally was taken, the Orange and Black had claimed all nine matches, eight of which were shutout victories.

In Williamstown, Mass., on Sunday, Princeton enjoyed similar success. Riding a wave of confidence that has been building over the past month, the Tigers cruised to an 8-1 win. Demonstrating unmatched stamina, four of the nine starters closed their matches with 9-0 victories in the final game.

The lone loss came in the No. 8 position, where junior tri-captain Tom McKay fell in four games. More significantly, during the match McKay re-aggravated a foot injury that plagued him during preseason. His health will be a major concern in the coming weeks for head coach Bob Callahan, who has already seen two of his senior starters, Vincent Yu and tri-captain Parker Sutton, suffer significant injuries this season.

Next weekend is the annual Five-Man National Championship, an event in which both professional and collegiate teams are eligible to compete. Princeton, which will be represented by two teams, will have a chance to measure its progress against fellow national-champion hopefuls Harvard and Trinity.

"The Five-man is very important," senior tri-captain Michael Gilman said. "It provides us with a good measuring mark to where we are halfway through the season."

"Although we are looking to win it all," added senior Preston Comey, "regardless [of the outcome,] we will all get to play some great matches which will only help us prepare for the big team matches ahead."

Comey, who has worked his way into the team's top-five, will be joined by Sanchez, Wong, El Halaby and Gilman on Princeton's A team. The B team will most likely consist of juniors McKay and Brendan Bascom and freshmen Santiago Imberton, David Canner and James Thorman, though injuries and challenges may cause Callahan to adjust the lineup accordingly.

Princeton historically has fared very well in this championship, defeating a professional team en route to a second place finish a year ago. This year's team will look to improve upon that finish and establish itself as the preeminent program in the nation.

Accompanying the men to New England, the No. 1 women's squash team (3-0 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) used superior depth to defeat No. 8 Brown and No. 7 Williams. The Tigers, who claimed both matches by 9-0 margins, have yet to lose an individual match this season.

In Providence, R.I., on Saturday, head coach Gail Ramsay received impressive performances from senior tri-captains Claire Rein-Weston and Marilla Hiltz, who combined to surrender only six points in their wins. Freshmen Neha Kumar, Amanda Siebert and Kaitlin Sennatt all earned solid victories, while junior Carly Grabowski extended her collegiate unbeaten streak with a 3-0 decision.

In Williamstown, Mass., on Sunday, Princeton faced a different opponent but emerged with a similar result, as all nine Tigers claimed victories. A testament to the team's depth, no Tiger in the bottom half of the lineup gave up more than five points total.

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The most exciting match of the weekend came at the No. 1 position, where Kumar faced fellow freshman Toby Eyre, a former U.S. national champion. Kumar, winner of last weekend's Constable Invitational, dropped the first and fourth games and found herself searching for answers. With both the men's and women's teams supporting her, Kumar pulled out a gut-wrenching fifth game, 9-6.

"Toby is a great player, and I had to fight hard to win this one," Kumar said. "Of course, having the entire men's and women's teams cheering me on was great, especially when I was down in the match."

Princeton has now completed the regular season portion of their pre-exam schedule. They do not compete again until Jan. 29, when they square off with Trinity.

While much of the training will take place individually over the next month, all of the Tigers realize that they must work together toward their common goal.

"Training on our own will be a big part of staying sharp throughout the winter break," Grabowski said. "Our most challenging matches will be in January and February, and therefore we have to keep up the momentum that we've developed in the fall."