Squash: Non-league foes await Princeton

In last year’s national championship, with the overall score tied at 4-4 and his match tied at two games, the men’s squash team’s Mauricio Sanchez ’09 took a 5-0 lead in the deciding game against Trinity’s Baset Chaudhry. The home crowd at Jadwin Gymnasium could hardly contain its excitement. The two highest-ranked players in college squash were competing in the deciding match, and Sanchez needed just four more points to clinch Princeton’s first national championship since 1982 and end Trinity’s streak of 10 national titles and 201 wins.

But Chaudhry stood firm, reversed the momentum in his favor and did not look back, eventually winning 9-5. As Trinity’s fans rushed the court to surround Chaudry in celebration, Princeton could only reflect on how close it had come. Five of the nine matches that day had gone to a deciding fifth game.

Trinity’s streak, which now stands at 220 consecutive wins, is the longest winning streak in the history of college sports. No. 4 Princeton (9-2 overall, 5-1 Ivy League), which has suffered four 5-4 losses to Trinity (18-0) during this streak, has another chance to make history this weekend. The Tigers will take on the No. 1 Bantams in Hartford, Conn., at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Princeton men and No. 4 women (6-3, 4-2) will take on Williams at Jadwin Gymnasium.

Last weekend, the No. 10 Williams men (12-6) took second place to Trinity in the New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference, and the No. 8 women (13-5) also finished second in the conference.

On paper, Princeton’s lineup appears weaker this year. The Tigers graduated Sanchez, Kimlee Wong ‘09 and Hesham El-Halaby ‘09, who, by winning four consecutive Ivy League titles, cemented their status as one of the best classes in Princeton squash history.

Last year, the Tigers were undefeated and were ranked No. 2 heading into the regular-season finale against Trinity, another painfully close 5-4 loss.

This year, the Tigers already have losses to Rochester and Yale, and they must hope that Harvard upsets Yale this weekend for Princeton to have a share of the Ivy title.

The biggest change for this year’s Trinity match is the location.

The juniors and seniors in the Tigers’ lineup know how difficult it is to play at Trinity, having done so during the 2008 season.

“Because of the way the courts are set up, Trinity’s fans are right in your face,” junior Nikhil Seth, who played in the junior varsity match at Trinity two years ago, said.

“They’re doing their best to intimidate you during points or when you step out of the court between games. You have to be extremely mentally tough to play your best squash under those circumstances,” he added.

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Sophomore Kelly Shannon has never played at Trinity before, but he said he anticipates a large and unfriendly Bantam crowd.

“I’ve heard that Trinity’s courts are just packed with alumni and fans, and the courts are all glass, so you can see the fans while you’re playing,” Shannon said. “It’s like a football game at most other schools. The whole school is proud of that win streak.”

But there is another side to the story.

Princeton was depleted by injuries to No. 5 Shannon, sophomore No. 3 Chris Callis and senior tri-captain No. 4 David Canner in its 5-4 loss to a much-improved Rochester team.

And while the Tigers did have a full lineup against Yale — another 5-4 loss — Shannon and Callis, both returning after long injury hiatuses, lost their matches in five games.

The Tigers will have everyone available to play this weekend, and their lineup will include four players — Shannon, Callis, Canner and junior No. 8 Peter Sopher — who won matches against Trinity last year.

Princeton will be looking for a big performance from freshman No. 1 Todd Harrity, who has played in the top spot for the Tigers all season. Harrity is looking to rebound from the first loss of his college career, which he suffered last weekend at the hands of Harvard’s Colin West.

Harrity will have his work cut out for him, as he will likely take on Chaudry, now a senior and a two-time individual champion.

For those who believe in good omens, Seth said he sees a reason for the Tigers to be confident this weekend.

“I’m not superstitious, but this weekend is the Chinese New Year. And a Princeton victory over Trinity would be a great start to the Year of the Tiger,” Seth said.