Squash: Women top Yale, men fall 5-4

After over a month without a match, the men’s and women’s squash teams returned to the court last week with important matches against Penn and Yale. Both squads also played Middlebury on Sunday. The teams had hoped to maintain their unbeaten records in the Ivy League, but neither team escaped without a loss. The impact of these losses on the Ivy League championship race remains to be seen, with important matches for both teams against Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend.

The No. 4 men (7-2 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) started off the string of matches with a dominant sweep of No. 8 Penn (5-5, 1-3) last Wednesday. Though still without injured sophomore standout Chris Callis, the Tigers easily handled the Quakers. Sophomore Kelly Shannon returned from injury to win 3-1 in his first match of the season, and the other eight players won in straight games.

On the women’s side, No. 7 Princeton (5-2, 3-1) did not fare as well against No. 3 Penn (10-1, 4-0), losing 3-6.

“We knew they were going to be one of our toughest matches,” senior tri-captain Kaitlin Sennatt said.

Sennatt and other players pointed to the long break for final exams as one of the reasons the Tigers were not as competitive as usual, but also praised their opponents.

“Penn played great,” Sennatt added. “They came out really strong.”

Though they had been struggling with injuries all season, most of the players returned for the Penn match. Senior tri-captain Amanda Siebert returned to the lineup, as did senior Neha Kumar and junior Nikki Sequeira. Senior tri-captain Emery Maine is still injured.

The teams resumed play on Saturday afternoon at Jadwin Gymnasium against Yale in front of a raucous crowd of supporters from both sides. The men played an extremely close match but eventually fell 5-4 to No. 2 Yale (10-1, 4-0). The loss ended an Ivy win streak extending over 23 games back to 2006, when the men lost to Yale at home.

The top of the lineup continued its consistency. Freshman No. 1 Todd Harrity won in five games against a feisty opponent. Before Saturday’s match, Harrity had yet to lose a single game all season.

“[Todd] needed a good, tough challenge,” head coach Bob Callahan ’77 said. “He played very well at the right time.”

Junior David Letourneau continued his unbeaten streak with a win in three games at the No. 2 spot. The scores were tight, but Letourneau pulled out each game.

Princeton’s other two wins came at the No. 6 and 7 spots. Senior tri-captain Santiago Imberton and junior Peter Sopher both won in three games.

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The men have played most of the early season with a depleted squad. Injuries to All-Americans Callis and Shannon had slowed the team, but both returned on Saturday.

“The team was thrilled to have Chris and Kelly back in the lineup,” Callahan said. “It really buoyed everyone’s enthusiasm and confidence.”

After winning the first two games, Callis battled fatigue in the final three games and almost came back to win after being down 10-6 in the fifth. Upon winning his tenth point, Callis’ opponent threw his hands in the air to celebrate the win, only to realize the match was not yet over. Callis fought back to within one point at 10-9, but came up short with his final ball hitting the tin.

Callis praised his opponent’s play but also noted the difficulty of playing such a competitive match after so much time off.

“[My opponent] was playing well, and I wasn’t ready to play a match,” Callis said. “I didn’t have very much confidence in myself, not having played for the better part of six months.”

Shannon had a similar result in his match. Shannon got down 7-1 in the final game, and the deficit proved too much to overcome. He rallied hard behind the home fans’ cheers but eventually lost 11-9.

Sophomore David Pena also played an extremely competitive match. Down 10-7 in the fifth game, Pena saved three match points to bring it even at 10-10. The two players traded points, but Pena missed on his three match-point opportunities and ultimately fell 16-14.

Though the result was not what the Tigers had hoped for, Callahan praised Pena’s persistence.

“He just impressed and amazed me with his competitive attitude and drive,” Callahan said.

Though Princeton suffered a tough loss to Yale, Callahan said the goal is still to win the league title and the national championship. To accomplish those goals, the Tigers will have to work hard and hope for a little bit of help from the rest of the Ivy League.

The women’s team also faced No. 4 Yale (8-3, 2-2) on Saturday, defeating the Bulldogs in a very competitive match. The loss at Penn provided strong motivation for the women’s team.

“Yale is a huge match, and we really wanted it after the loss on Wednesday,” Sennatt said.

Sennatt rallied from two games down to defeat her opponent in five games at the No. 5 position. Freshman Casey Cortes rebounded from a loss at Penn to win in five games at the No. 8 spot.

“After Wednesday, I was a little more calmed down,” Cortes said.

The win against Yale keeps the women in the Ivy League title hunt and should move them up in national rankings. It will also help them earn a better seed in the national championship bracket.

Both squads finished the weekend with easy matches against Middlebury. The men swept the match 9-0, and the women won 8-1. The matches gave players a little lower down on the ladder a chance to play and others a chance to rest.