Princeton University
Harvard
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Men's Squash Upsets No. 2 Harvard To Claim Program's 12th Ivy League Title
February 11, 2007 | Men's Squash
Bob Callahan might not have authored the same beginning, but he sure loved the ending. Despite trailing 3-0 and watching another player two points away from losing, the Princeton men's squash coach proudly watched his No. 3 Tigers valiantly rally for a 6-3 win over Harvard to claim Princeton's 12th Ivy League title and fourth in six seasons. Freshman David Canner turned the tide, rallying to win Princeton's first match of the day in five games, and his teammates built on that to claim one of the most dramatic wins in team history.
Princeton is now 8-0 overall, 6-0 in the Ivy League, and will move to No. 2 in the country. The Tigers will take on Trinity College next Saturday in a battle of unbeatens, but its impact will have no bearing on the 2007 Ivy League championship, nor will the upcoming showdown between Yale and Harvard. That title can not be taken away from Princeton.
"This was one of the greatest turnarounds I have ever seen," Callahan said afterwards. "To be two points away from being down 0-4 and then come back to win the match, it's unbelievable. Harvard was very classy and did a great job. For us, how sweet it is to win another Ivy League title."
Starting with the even matches, Harvard went up with a 3-0 win at No. 4 and a 3-1 win at No. 2. When Harvard's Verdi DiSesa claimed the fifth game of his match at No. 8 with a 9-3 win while teammate Garnett Booth was closing in on a win at No. 6, the margin for error for the Tigers was slim. Canner kept hope alive, fighting back from a late deficit in the fourth game to claim a 10-8 win, and then gutting out a 9-6 victory in the sixth game. It was rare composure from a freshman, who won the first game 10-9, but it was necessary as Princeton's battled for a title.
With Princeton trailing only 3-1 with several strong players left to go, the Tigers breathed a little easier and started to control the play. Preston Comey put together another comeback win, rallying from 2-1 down to claim match No. 7 with wins of 9-5 and 9-4 in the final two games. Both Tom McKay (No. 9) and Kimlee Wong (No. 3) claimed 3-0 wins to remarkably put Princeton up 4-3. It was time for another freshman to pull out a key win, and Santiago Imberton pulled it out with a 9-3, 5-9, 9-2, 9-0 victory at No. 5. That clinched the Ivy League title for the Tigers, and No. 1 player Mauricio Sanchez added the sixth win with a 9-4, 9-0, 9-2 victory over 2006 national individual finalist Siddharth Suchde.
Princeton will face Trinity Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Jadwin Squash Courts. Up for grabs will be the top seed at the national team championships, which will be held the following weekend in New Haven.
PRINCETON 6, HARVARD 3
1 - Mauricio Sanchez (P) d. Siddharth Suchde 9-4, 9-0, 9-2
2 - Ilan Oren (H) d. Hesham El Halaby 5-9, 9-5, 9-2, 9-4
3 - Kimlee Wong (P) d. Jason Delierre 9-1, 9-6, 9-5
4 - Colin West (H) d. Vincent Yu 9-1, 9-2, 9-5
5 - Santiago Imberton (P) d. Mihir Seth 9-3, 5-9, 9-2, 9-0
6 - David Canner (P) d. Garnett Booth 10-9, 4-9, 6-9, 10-8, 9-6
7 - Preston Comey (P) d. Niko Hrdy 1-9, 9-1, 5-9, 9-5, 9-4
8 - Verdi DiSesa (H) d. Michael Gilman 0-9, 9-7, 9-4, 1-9, 9-3
9 - Tom McKay (P) d. Todd Ostrow 9-2, 9-5, 9-5