Men's Squash: Trinity lives up to rank as nation’s No.1

The Tigers (11-1 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) gave the Bantams (14-0) a challenge: The contest came down to the final two matchups.

At No. 7, freshman Kelly Shannon faced Trinity’s Andres Vargas in a battle between two tough players that went five games. Vargas took the first match 9-2, but Shannon battled back in the next two, taking a 2-1 lead with a pair of 9-2 victories.

Meanwhile, senior No. 1 and tri-captain Mauricio Sanchez squared off against the 2008 national champion, Baset Chaudhry, and had taken away his first game ever from Chaudhry, winning 9-7.

“I didn’t know exactly what was going on with Kelly’s match, but I did have an idea,” Sanchez said. “He had a really great fan support, and I could tell by the noise that he was still in contention. I knew I had to keep trying, since a win from him and me would make us take the match.”

Sanchez kept the pressure on, maintaining a 2-0 lead with a 9-5 win, but Shannon, who had not played a match in 2009, faltered. Despite an early 3-1 lead in the fourth game, he couldn’t hold on and he eventually fell 3-2.

Back on the No. 1 court, Sanchez didn’t let the news that his team had lost the overall match faze him. He kept battling with Chaudhry, who was making a comeback and had the match tied at two games apiece.

“Against Chaudhry, I tried to play a very disciplined game,” Sanchez said. “In our previous matches, I had lost my way and attempted very risky tactics, but last night I tried to be more conservative.”

That strategy paid off: As Sanchez’ teammates in the crowd muttered that they didn’t know how anyone could go five games against Princeton’s No. 1, Sanchez neatly took control of the fifth game, winning 9-2 for his first victory over Chaudhry.

“It felt great to win against Chaudhry, especially since I had not been able to beat him before,” Sanchez said. “Nonetheless, it was a bittersweet feeling, since our objective was to win the whole match.”

The match initially looked good for the Tigers, with Princeton going 2-1 in the first three matches. Freshman No. 3 Chris Callis showed great poise against Trinity’s veteran fan favorite Manek Mathur. After dropping a close set 9-7, Callis fought back, taking the remaining sets 10-8, 9-4, 10-9, for a 3-1 win.

At No. 6, senior tri-captain Hesham El Halaby dominated the court with a 3-0 win, taking the games 9-7, 9-5, 9-6.

“I tried to come out attacking with fast pace, so I could get a big lead, but I lost a little bit of focus when [I was] up 8-3, and, as he was catching up with me, I was a bit more patient and didn’t force the point,” El Halaby said.

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Sophomore No. 9 Peter Sopher put up a fight, taking Chris Binnie to five games, but he ultimately ceded the win. With the first session over, Princeton was ahead 2-1.

Next came a big 3-0 sweep from junior No. 5 David Canner. After losing the first game, Randy Lim worked hard to stay in the match in games two and three, forcing Canner to take them in 10 points.

Trinity’s most decisive victories came at the No. 2 spot, where Gustav Detter swept senior tri-captain Kimlee Wong, and the No. 8 spot, where Vikram Malhotra took down junior Santiago Imberton in three. With three matches left to play, Princeton was tied with Trinity at three.

That brought Sanchez, Shannon and sophomore No. 4 David Letourneau onto the courts. Princeton needed two of the three in order to break Trinity’s 198-game winning streak. Letourneau took his first game 9-2, but he then fell 9-3, 9-2 in the next two. He was unable to climb out of the 2-1 deficit, losing his final game 10-8. This put the pressure on Shannon and Sanchez, but only Sanchez was able to come away with a victory.

Head coach Bob Callahan ’77 noted that the Tigers are gearing up for a potential date with the Bantams in the national championship, which will take place this upcoming weekend.

“I felt the team played very well,” Callahan said. “It was a tough loss, but the team is excited about a possible rematch this coming weekend.”