Squash: Both squads to battle vs. Brown

If past outcomes are any predictor of future performance, the men’s and women’s squash teams should come away from their matches with Brown this weekend undefeated in the Ivy League. Neither the men nor the women has lost a single match against Brown since December 2004. The Tigers will also take on Bates on Saturday afternoon in their first home matches of the season.

Though the No. 2 Princeton men (2-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) have dominated No. 13 Brown (0-1, 0-1) in the past, and though No. 12 Bates (3-1) does not appear to be a threat, senior tri-captain David Canner remains wary.

“Brown and Bates are both strong enough that we need to have a top lineup,” he said.

The depth of the Princeton lineup, however, makes coming up with a strong top nine almost a non-issue. The Tigers remain without sophomore standouts Kelly Shannon and Chris Callis, who have been sidelined due to injuries since the beginning of the season.

Both Shannon and first-team All-America selection Callis have progressed since sitting out the matches two weeks ago at Cornell, but they remain questionable for the matches this weekend. Junior Philip Sopher is also on the road to recovery, but he may not be ready yet either.

Canner said he is confident that the Tigers’ depth will be enough this weekend, and that all three will return for the Tigers’ first big test of the season against No. 3 Rochester on Dec. 13.

“We have a strong enough lineup to handle their absences this weekend,” he said.

The Tigers should walk all over Brown, who lost 9-0 to Harvard in its only match yet this season, but Bates may put up more of a fight. The Bobcats defeated their first three opponents, 9-0, with their only loss coming to 11-time defending national champions Trinity.

Even in their loss to Trinity, Bates showed promise. Bates’ number one player, Kush Mahan, defeated Supreet Singh in five games to avoid a shutout. Five players must win their matches for the team to win, however, so Mahan’s strength should not worry the Tigers.

Canner insists that the nature of the competition will not affect how the Tigers view this weekend’s matches.

The story is similar for the No. 1 Princeton women (1-1, 1-0). The No. 10 Brown women’s team (0-1, 0-1) also lost its first and only match to Harvard, 9-0. The No. 12 Bates women (4-0) remain undefeated, but they are also untested as only two of their four wins have come against top-25 teams.

The women will appreciate the two easy matches because, like the men, their lineup is depleted.

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“We still have a couple of injuries, which is unfortunate” senior tri-captain Kaitlin Sennatt said. Senior Neha Kumar and sophomore Clare Kuensell will remain out of the lineup this weekend. Senior tri-captain Emery Maine returns after a bout with the flu two weeks ago, but senior tri-captain Amanda Siebert is still questionable.

For the women, the freshmen have been instrumental in filling the gaps created by injuries. Freshman Julie Cerullo has been playing in the top spot with much success. Though Cerullo is a rookie, Sennatt said she is impressed by her poise.

“She’s incredibly steady and very experienced,” Sennatt said.

Freshman Casey Cortes has also had early success, most notably an important win against Cornell. “She had a tough match which she ended up winning,” Sennatt said. The Tigers will continue to look to their youngest players to contribute this weekend.

Sennatt said the focus in practice has changed from the early season emphasis on conditioning and technique. They are now concentrating on refining tactics by practicing particular strategies and styles of play. This intense focus should help the Tigers in the most challenging portion of their season in February.

Though both the men’s and women’s teams should easily defeat their opponents on Saturday, the matches against Brown are important for the Ivy League title. Since these are their first home matches, “it feels almost like the kickoff of the season,” Sennatt said.

On Saturday, the Tigers will face Brown at 11 a.m. and Bates at 1 p.m. in Jadwin Gymnasium.