The last time the Trinity College men’s squash team came to Jadwin Gymnasium, fans saw one of the most thrilling matches in collegiate squash history. In the 2009 Men's College Squash Association National Team Championships, Princeton and the Bantams — then riding an 11-year, 201-match win streak — traded early matches and were tied at 4. Mauricio Sanchez ’09 fought back from a 2-0 deficit against Baset Chaudhry to force a deciding fifth game, but the visitor recovered to win, clinching the national championship and Trinity’s second 5-4 victory at Jadwin in two weeks.
"All that I could see outside of the court was a sea of people dressed in orange and black," senior No. 2 Dave Letourneau said of the title match in an email. "Friends with painted chests were chanting our names and banging on the walls, there was even sporadic singing and chanting in between points. It was nuts. I have never felt or seen such support and that match was by far the highlight of my sporting career."
In the two years since that match, No. 1 Trinity (15-0) has extended its win streak to 239 matches, the longest such feat in the history of college sports. No team has threatened the record as strongly as the Tigers — Trinity’s closest matches have been a handful of 6-3 victories. Princeton will get another chance on Sunday when the Bantams visit Jadwin again.
"When I'm told to sit still, I fidget," senior No. 5 Peter Sopher said in an e-mail of the days leading up to the match. "It's really a struggle to think about anything other than this match coming up because it means so much to anyone in the squash world. In any match Trinity plays apart from when we play them, we cheer for Trinity because we want to be the team the dethrones them."
No. 3 Princeton (8-1) has suffered only one loss this season, a 5-4 heartbreaker at No. 2 Yale two weekends ago. The Tigers recovered last weekend, defeating No. 6 Harvard and No. 7 Dartmouth to finish 5-1 in the Ivy League.
Since losing to Harvard’s Colin West in the finals of the CSA Individual Championships last spring, sophomore No. 1 Todd Harrity has not lost a match, becoming the nation’s top-ranked collegiate player. Harrity will face the player directly beneath him in the national rankings, Trinity’s Parth Sharma.
Senior Dave Letourneau, ranked fourth nationally, has also remained undefeated since the CSA tournament, posting 13 consecutive victories. The co-captain completed a perfect four-year career in Ivy League matches with home wins against Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend, but he will face a tough test against sixth-ranked Vikram Malhotra.
"There is nothing better than being an underdog at home," Letourneau said. "We are lucky to have such a great fan base which makes Jadwin an incredible place to play."
Before taking on Trinity, the Tigers will face a tough opponent on Saturday, as they are hosting No. 4 Rochester (8-2). The Yellowjackets, including No. 3 Ben Fisher, have only lost to the nation’s top two teams, Trinity and Yale, this season.
"I do not fear that we will lose to Rochester because of underestimating them — we know they are good," Sopher said. "Everyone on our team knows that there are two big matches this weekend, and, if we lose to Rochester, it will be because they outplay us."
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