Men's Squash: Depleted squad falls to Rochester

While most of Princeton’s finest were dancing the night away at Winter Formals this weekend, members of the No. 2 men’s squash team (5-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) were snug in their beds in preparation for their match on Sunday.

The Tigers traveled to snowy Rochester, N.Y., on Sunday for their toughest match yet against No. 3 University of Rochester. Rochester spoiled Princeton’s unblemished record in a very tight competition, winning 5-4.

Everyone in the college squash community had their eyes on the match between the Tigers and the Yellowjackets on Sunday. Princeton defeated them, 8-1, in last year’s national semifinal, but Rochester has improved, and the Tigers were without three of their top players: sophomores Chris Callis and Kelly Shannon and senior David Canner.

This time, Rochester proved to be too strong for Princeton. Freshman Todd Harrity continued his unbeaten streak at the top of the ladder, as did junior David Letourneau at the second position. Princeton’s other two wins came in the middle of the lineup from junior Peter Sopher and sophomore Clay Blackiston at positions five and six, respectively.

Letourneau’s match was extremely close. He came back to win in five games after getting down two games to none. At that point, Letourneau’s mental toughness and competitive drive kicked in.

“I came off the court after the second game,” Letourneau said, “and I told the coach, there’s no way I was going to lose. I’ll do anything before I lose.”

He won the third game, but then was four points from defeat in the fourth game. Freshman Steve Harrington came over to witness the ensuing comeback when Letourneau was down 7-1 in the fourth game.

“He kind of rallied himself back in it and killed the crowd,” Harrington said. “That was the highlight of the day.”

Both Sopher and Harrity won in three games. Harrity has yet to lose a single game in his five matches this season.

Blackiston won by default when his opponent tripped and knocked himself unconscious while trying to retrieve a shot in the back forehand corner. After lying on the court for half a minute, he came to, but would not return to finish the match. Blackiston had won the first game and was leading in the second when his opponent was forced to retire.

Sophomore David Pena played in what proved to be the decisive match. Rochester had already won four matches and needed one more to seal the win. Pena lost in four games, but Sopher praised Pena’s play. “David came out very consistent,” Sopher said.

The Tigers have been struggling with injuries all season. Once again, they played without many of their key players. Shannon and Callis remain injured and out of the lineup. Junior Phil Sopher is still recovering and was not yet ready to return to action. Senior tri-captain David Canner also sat out this weekend’s matches. In the end, it proved too much to overcome.

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“It was disappointing, but it’s also encouraging,” Peter Sopher said of the loss.

“We pushed them into a 5-4 match,” senior tri-captain Santiago Imberton said. “[It] demonstrates that we’re a very competitive team, even without three of our top players.”

Imberton emphasized that the Tigers may get another chance to play Rochester in the national championship tournament at the end of the season. While the loss is likely to hurt Princeton’s ranking, it does not affect its season otherwise. “It doesn’t mean much in the sense that we’ve still got to play them in the national championships, and that’s when it’s going to count,” Imberton said.

Princeton warmed up for Sunday’s arctic match with its final home match of the calendar year Friday against the Midshipmen of Navy (13-4). The Tigers extended their streak of 9-0 sweeps to three, but there were a few close matches. Blackiston gutted out a five-game winner at the sixth position, and Peter Sopher won in four games at the fifth position.

None of the other matches was close, with all seven ending in the minimum three games. Junior Nikhil Seth was dominant at the seventh spot, shutting out his opponent in the second game and allowing only 13 points over the whole match.

The Tigers remain undefeated in Ivy League play and will aim to defend their title when they resume play after exams in January against Penn. They hope to continue their unbeaten streak in the Ivy League, but No. 3 Yale should be another tough test.

Though they lost, the trip to Rochester showed the Tigers that they can remain competitive even without some of their top players. If those players return for the second half of the season, the Tigers should once again challenge for the national championship.