Cornell no match in sweeps

Another Ithaca might have been the home of Homer's wily Ulysses, but the men's squash team hardly faced an epic struggle in upstate New York over the weekend.

The Tigers returned from Ithaca doubly victorious after they handily defeated Western Ontario University and Cornell on Sunday. The men's team faced off against Western Ontario first, winning eight-of-nine matches. Despite the dominant score, the Tigers did not take their adversary lightly.

"Western is a talented and dangerous team, so we were happy to come away with the 8-1 win despite a slow start to the match," senior captain Tom McKay said.

Indeed, several Tigers dropped games in the early morning match, but they credited their superior preparation as the deciding factor.

"The matches went pretty well because we have already played some practice matches. When we went to Egypt over Fall Break, we played against a lot of good Egyptians, and that is helping a lot in the beginning of the season," junior Mauricio Sanchez said.

Though the Tigers struggled slightly in the morning match, they decimated the Big Red in the afternoon match, 9-0.

"The match against Cornell was a much better performance across the board. [Freshmen] Dave Letourneau and Peter Sopher both had strong collegiate debuts, showing that they will be a valuable part of our lineup this year," McKay said.

Princeton's victory can be partly attributed to the team's depth, as the lineup features one senior, four juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. Playing at the No. 1 position this week, Sanchez's match was punctuated by short, decisive points, but he expects the pace of the game to change as the season progresses.

"Rallies will start getting much longer soon at the five-man tournaments after Thanksgiving break," Sanchez said.

The Tigers will stay over break to train for their next match, and Princeton squash fans can see them play at home for the first time on Nov. 29 against Franklin and Marshall.

Women sweep Cornell

Also playing at Cornell, the No. 1 women's squash team opened its season in style Sunday with a sweep of the Big Red. There were still some first-match nerves, though likely more from excitement than from pressure.

Freshman Nikki Sequeira and sophomore Emery Maine opened their squash careers on Sunday. Playing in the No. 8 slot, Sequeira only dropped one point in her first match and dominated her last two games 9-0, 9-0.

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Opening her Princeton squash career playing the No. 3 slot for the Tigers, Maine won in three games as well and showed that she can handle a squash raquet with as much skill as a lacrosse stick. Maine made her entry into collegiate athletics as a midfielder on the women's lacrosse team last year.

"There were definitely some nerves going into yesterday's match, but having played last weekend — and for a lot of years before coming to Princeton — I think I was better able to overcome those nerves and just play my match," Maine said.

While two new Tiger players earned their first victories this weekend, experience also paid dividends. All seven returning players won, led by their senior captains Margaret Kent and Carly Grabowski. Making her debut in the No. 1 position, sophomore Neha Kumar put in three solid games, while fellow sophomore Kaitlin Sennatt won convincingly in the No. 4 spot.

In the closest match of the day, sophomore Amanda Siebert showed her mental toughness in pulling out a four-game win, 5-9, 9-2, 9-4, 9-4.

"Siebert had a particularly tough win," junior Maggie O'Toole said. "After being surprised by her opponent taking the first game, she went back on court more determined and ready and took the next three straight games."

The women will play at home against Brown on Dec. 1.