Squash: Bulldogs dash hopes for undefeated season in 5-4 thriller

The loss to Yale (11-1, 4-0) means the Tigers have to hope another team can knock off the Bulldogs if they want to salvage a share of the Ivy League title.

“It was a good test to show that we have a lot of things to work on,” senior No. 2 and co-captain Dave Letourneau said. “Down our entire lineup, everyone could play better.”

With the team score knotted at 4-4, the match hinged on a battle at No. 4 between senior co-captain Peter Sopher and Yale senior Naishadh Lalwani. Though Sopher grabbed the first game, Lalwani won the final three to clinch the win for his team.

“I played pretty well,” Sopher said. “I didn’t play out of my mind, but I didn’t play poorly either. I definitely lost my discipline a little early at times and had my ups and my downs. But I got outplayed. He didn’t miss.”

The Bulldogs benefited from a boisterous home crowd, which added to the pressure the Tigers felt during the match.

“It was easier for them to build momentum,” Sopher said. “Every time they played a good point, they were infused by the energy of the crowd.”

“The crowd made it harder,” junior Clay Blackiston added. “If they hit one good shot or won the point, they got the momentum immediately.”

While Princeton players collectively dropped just three games in their four individual wins, three of the Bulldogs’ points came from comeback victories. At the No. 3 and No. 8 spots, junior Chris Callis and Blackiston both grabbed 2-0 leads before falling 3-2.

Blackiston found himself facing a familiar opponent, former high school classmate Robbie Berner.

“Berner and I are very good friends off the court,” Blackiston said. “I went up 2-0 on him, I had a good lead, I was playing well. I started to get tired and he started stepping it up and got the momentum of the crowd.”

Though the Tigers could find little consolation in the frustrating result, the team was pleased by the performance of junior No. 5 Kelly Shannon in his first match of the season. Shannon topped John Fulham 3-1. In the final game with the score tied 8-8, he pulled off an impressive forehand hold, in which he wrong-footed his opponent to pull away for the win.

On Wednesday, the Tigers easily topped Penn (4-5, 1-3), winning 9-0 at Jadwin Gymnasium in their first match after a six-week layoff for winter break and exams.

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The remainder of Princeton’s regular-season matches will be at home, where the team will likely benefit from the same home-court advantage the Bulldogs received this weekend.

“Home crowds are easier to play in front of,” Sopher said.

The team hopes to use this advantage to build some momentum over the final month of the season.

“We’re hungry for a national title,” junior No. 6 David Pena said.

The women’s squash team also fell on the wrong side of a 5-4 match. On Wednesday, the No. 4 Tigers (6-2, 2-2) jumped out to a 4-1 lead against the No. 5 Quakers (6-2, 3-1) before losing the final four individual matches of the contest to fall 5-4.

Princeton’s wins came courtesy of senior No. 2 and co-captain Jackie Moss, freshman No. 6 Alex Sawin, sophomore No. 8 Casey Cortes and freshman No. 9 Caroline Feeley.

On Saturday, the Tigers lost 7-2 to No. 2 Yale (12-0, 4-0). The Tigers’ two senior co-captains, Moss and No. 7 Nikki Sequeira, recorded the team’s two individual victories in the match.