Though Penn is the reigning Ancient Eight champion, the Tigers went on to defeat the Quakers 6-3 in the national final. Junior Neha Kumar, who has battled injuries the past two seasons, defeated Penn’s Alisha Turner, 10-8, to push Princeton ahead, allowing junior Emery Maine to win the final match for the national title.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Kumar’s first match of this season did not end so triumphantly. She lost in five games to Penn’s Sydney Scott, 9-2, 3-9, 9-2, 2-9, 9-7. Recovering from an ankle injury, Kumar faced off against Scott, who is quickly earning a reputation as a Tiger killer: Scott beat then-freshman Jackie Moss in last year’s national final.
Moss, who has also been fighting injuries, played the No. 5 position in the ladder, winning in four games, 9-5, 6-9, 9-5, 9-3. Two of the match’s sweeps were won by Tigers: freshman Nikki Sequira and senior tri-captain Joanna Scoon.
“[E]ven after we split the first two 1-1 at Penn, we were taking inspiration from each other’s performances and really playing for the team, which was something we’ve been talking about since Egypt,” senior tri-captain Maggie O’Toole said.
Following the men’s team, which got ready for its 2007 season by spending Fall Break in Egypt, the women prepared for their season in matches against 13- and 14-year-olds.
After their convincing win over Penn, the Princeton women traveled to New Haven, where they romped the Bulldogs 8-1. The Tigers swept the bottom six matches: No Yale player won a single game. Jackie Moss did not give her opponent a single point, dispatching her 9-0, 9-0, 9-0.
Playing No. 1 during both matches, junior Amanda Siebert could not pull off a win. However, the 2008 Constable Cup champion is still in a good position to make an individual championship run. She lost to Yale’s top-ranked Logan Greer in three close games and Penn’s Kristen Lange in four games. Maine, playing the No. 3 spot, won both her matches in four games. The matches at the top of the ladder nearly all went the distance, but Princeton’s overwhelming depth at the bottom of the lineup proved too much for the Bulldogs.
The men’s team also played Penn last Wednesday, routing the Quakers 9-0. With senior Mauricio Sanchez seeing limited action this season, senior tri-captain Kimlee Wong stepped up to the No. 1 slot for the Tigers. He corralled Penn’s James Clark, 9-2, 9-3, 9-2.
Foreshadowing good things for Princeton squash’s future, three freshmen saw action in the win over Penn. Jesus Pena and Clay Blackiston held down the No. 7 and No. 8 spots respectively for the Tigers, and Chris Callis, who has marched up the ladder for the Tigers, played in the second position, granting a 9-0, 9-3, 9-2 reprieve to Trevor McGuinness.
“Chris has always had the makings of a terrific game, but this year has allowed him to train with top flight teammates and to get fitter so he can maintain that level for longer,” head coach Bob Callahan ’77 said.
Against the Bulldogs, Callis dropped down to the third spot in the ladder with the return of tri-captain and three-time All-America selection Sanchez. But Callis’ result was no different. He defeated Yale’s Todd Ruth 9-4, 9-3, 9-6. It was a relatively easy win for the Tigers in a match full of long contests. Sanchez, whose movement has been hampered on the court because of a few lower-body injuries, won in four games, jumping out to an early two-game lead before dropping the third and closing the match in the fourth.
Sophomore David Letourneau had the team’s longest match, using all five games to dismiss Yale’s John Roberts 4-9, 9-7, 9-6, 6-9, 9-7. Letourneau has been nursing an injured ankle, but he was able to fight through a tough fifth game to attain the victory. The two match losses ends Princeton’s nine-match winning streak, which lasted more than a season and a half.
This past week was the first time senior Hesham El Halaby saw action after being sidelined with a hamstring injury all season. After earning individual wins against Penn and Yale, he added a nightcap, handing a 9-5, 9-2, 9-5 loss to William Newnham of No. 5 Rochester.
Overall, Princeton handily defeated the Yellowjackets 9-0. At the No. 1 spot, Sanchez beat Rochester’s Jim Bristow 9-3, 9-2, 9-6.
The convincing victory over the Yellowjackets should give the Tigers some confidence heading into their matches against Dartmouth and Harvard, which will take place on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8, respectively.
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