Trinity too much for Tigers

A trinity usually means a group of three — but that understates how many times the Bantams have had the Tigers' number in recent history.

The Ivy League champion men's squash team (10-2 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) defeated Williams and archrival Harvard in the first two rounds of the Potter Cup this weekend to advance to Sunday's national championship match.

The Tigers' run ended there, however, as top-ranked Trinity College (21-0 overall) once again proved its supremacy by shutting out Princeton to capture its ninth-straight national title. With the win, the Bantams extended their consecutive win streak to 165 matches, the longest such streak in intercollegiate athletics.

The Tigers began their pursuit of their first national title since 1993 Friday, when they took on No. 7 Williams College (10-5 overall).

Having lost freshman David Canner — who had played brilliantly in the No. 6 position throughout the season — to a groin injury suffered the previous weekend, head coach Bob Callahan was forced to change his starting lineup. While the No. 7 through No. 9 players were bumped up a position, senior Parker Sutton stepped in to fill the vacancy.

Despite the handicap, the Tigers did not miss a beat in the first round as they marched past Williams, 7-2. Sophomore No. 1 Mauricio Sanchez, who entered the weekend as the top-ranked individual in the nation, continued his impressive play, leading the Tigers with an easy shutout victory.

Junior tri-captain Tom McKay and junior Brendan Bascom were also impressive in the victory. McKay surrendered only 2 points en route to his win, and Bascom — who played No. 9 as freshman Santiago Imberton took this match off to rest — closed his 3-0 victory with a shutout in the final game.

Friday's win set up a showdown with No. 3 Harvard (7-3 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) in a rematch of the Ivy League championship match. Even though the Tigers played Saturday with a different lineup, they got the same result, grinding out a thrilling 5-4 victory. Playing in a three-round format, the two teams split the first six matches. Sophomore No. 3 Kimlee Wong earned a decisive victory to give the Tigers an early lead, and Sutton followed suit with a critical five-game victory.

In the final shift, senior tri-captain Michael Gilman captured perhaps the most important victory in his collegiate career, and Sanchez closed the match with another impressive win over Siddharth Suchde, a finalist in the individual national championship last year.

"People were surprised we beat Harvard the first time," Callahan said, "but to do it again, without David Canner, is really special. It was a terrific match, and I'm really happy for the guys."

In Sunday's national championship match against Trinity, the Tigers were unable to continue their run. The Bantams took control early and never looked back, capturing all nine matches. Wong was the only Tiger to extend his match to five games, while senior Preston Comey and Sanchez fell in four games. For Sanchez, his loss to freshman Baset Ashfaq was his first of the season, but he may have a shot at redemption next weekend at the individual national championship.

"Clearly, we are disappointed with our performance today," Comey said, "but you have to give all the credit to Trinity. They played well again today and showed why they are the premier program in collegiate squash."

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Comey is one of four seniors who played their final match in a Princeton uniform on Sunday. Also departing are Gilman, Sutton and Vincent Yu, who played No. 4 throughout the majority of the season.

While the top of Princeton's lineup is still young, coach Callahan will need to reload the middle and bottom of the ladder next year if he hopes to duplicate this season's success.

Next weekend, a number of the top Tigers will compete in the individual national championship. A new champion will be crowned this year for the first time in four years, as four-time champion Yasser El Halaby '06 has graduated.

Sanchez, who will most likely enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed after his loss Sunday, will look to follow in El Halaby's footsteps and bring the trophy back to Princeton for a fifth consecutive year.

The individual national championship begins Friday in Philadelphia.