Tigers fall in finals

So far, it has not been a particularly competitive season for the men's squash team. In its first three matches, the Tigers blew away their opponents with 9-0 victories, and until their last tournament, the team's only blemish was one lost match against Western Ontario en route to an 8-1 win. Princeton's first legitimate test came this weekend, as the squad was handed its first defeat in the finals of the Five-Man Nationals in New Haven.

The Tigers fell by a score of 4-1 to Team Hartford, a post-collegiate squad, in the final of the tournament, which featured five matches between the teams as opposed to the usual nine. An injury kept junior No. 1 Mauricio Sanchez out of the opening rounds of the tournament, but by the finals Sanchez felt well enough to play.

Appearing fully recoverd, Sanchez toppled opponent Ben Howell in a three-game sweep, 9-6, 9-5, 9-6. Sanchez commented that Howell did not seem to be Hartford's best play, however, and speculated that the team had shuffled its players, essentially conceding the game against Sanchez to give their other players a chance at victory.

"The match wasn't a very even match-up of abilities," Sanchez said. "The other team was all 30 or above, and while they had very good racquet skills, they couldn't run very well. I moved much faster, so my athletic skills helped me win."

Playing against former Trinity star Regardt Schonborn, junior No. 2 Kimlee Wong fell in four games, 9-7, 7-9, 9-8, 9-5. Junior No. 3 Hesham El Halaby fought the closest rounds of the match for Princeton. He fell in five games, claiming he second and fourth games before ultimately succumbing, 9-7, 7-9, 9-6, 5-9, 9-4.

"The first part of the game was close," El Halaby said. "Every time I'd lose my focus, I'd lose three or four points ... [and] he'd break away. He'd attack the ball very well."

Freshman David Letourneau and sophomore Santiago Imberton both fell in four sets at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively.

All that isn't to say, though, that the Tigers didn't have a nice run to the title game. Interestingly, the team's quarterfinal and semifinal wins came without the aid of Sanchez.

Freshman Peter Sopher stepped up to fill the No. 5 spot in those two matches. Along with Imberton at No. 4, the two anchored the team with solid 3-0 wins in the quarterfinal against the Penn Charter School. Wong, playing at No. 1, won in four games, while El Halaby held down the No. 2 spot with another four-set win.

Letourneau, meanwhile, threw off the rust after losing his first game 0-9 to win the next three matches by scores of 9-0, 9-0 and 9-3 and finish off the Tigers' sweep.

Princeton's next match came against Team Ketcham, a team of Yale alumni that defeated Harvard in its quarterfinal. The Tigers, still relying on Wong to fill the top spot, owned the former Bulldogs, winning every match 3-0. Wong banged out a 9-5, 9-5, 9-4, win.

Both Team Ketcham and eventual champ Team Hartford were comprised of professional players, former professional players or coaches, yet Princeton downed one and challenged the other. Playing against such strong teams will surely help Princeton in the long run.

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"We wouldn't normally have played against these guys," El Halaby said. "And they were all close matches."

Princeton's B-side, senior Tom McKay, junior Scott Callahan, freshman Nikhil Seth, senior Brendon Bascom and sophomore James Thorman, finished 11th in the same tournament last weekend.

The Tigers' next match is not until Jan. 30, when they take on perennial powerhouse Trinity.