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No. 1 Trinity Keeps Streak Intact, Knocks Off No. 2 Men's Squash 6-3
January 30, 2008 | Men's Squash
The top-ranked Trinity men's squash team won its 176th straight match Wednesday night, but the No. 2 Princeton Tigers established themselves as a worthy challenger for the Ivy and national title this season. Princeton, which has been strongest at the top of the lineup during its most recent run of success, claimed three wins in the middle of the lineup, but the Bantams were too good at the top and bottom.
"I thought we would be competitive tonight, and we were, but they were too good," head coach Bob Callahan said afterwards. "It was a good experience for us, but we have to go back to work now. We have a tough Yale team coming here Saturday and we have to focus now on the Ivy schedule."
Playing a three-round format, Trinity rallied for a 2-1 lead after the first session. Rushabh Vora won 3-0 at No. 9 over Philip Sopher for the Bantams, but impressive Princeton freshman David Letourneau pulled out a 7-9, 9-7, 9-1, 9-5 victory over Trinity veteran Manek Mathur at No. 3. It had the potential for a 2-1 Princeton lead, as sophomore Santiago Imberton led 2-0 at No. 6, but Supreet Singh rallied for 9-4, 9-3 and 9-2 wins in the final three games.
Realistically, Princeton needed to get to 3-3 heading into the final session to have a good shot at it. Simba Muhwati defeated Peter Sopher 3-0 at No. 8, but Princeton junior Hesham El Halaby picked up a 9-7, 9-4, 2-9, 10-8 win over Parth Sharma at No. 5 to stay within one. The No. 2 match was a crucial one, and it was dominated by Trinity junior Gustav Detter. The hero of the 2006 near-upset at Trinity, Detter dropped only eight points in a 3-0 win.
Senior Tom McKay did all he could to keep Princeton in the match, fighting off several match balls in the third game and eventually pulling out a 10-8 win. It wouldn't be enough, as Randy Lim swept through the fourth to win 3-1 at No. 7. The potential highlight match of the evening, a potential national individual championship preview between Princeton's Mauricio Sanchez and Trinity's Baset Chaudhry, didn't turn out to be close. Chaudhry's power and placement were too much Wednesday evening, and he claimed a 3-0 win.
The final match on the court was won by gutsy Princeton sophomore David Canner, who rallied from 2-1 down to win 9-5 and 9-1 in the final two games for a 3-2 win at No. 4.
Princeton will host Yale Saturday at noon. Both teams are unbeaten in Ivy League play, and not only will the winner keep control of its destiny in the Ivy League race, but it will all-but ensure itself of staying out of Trinity's half of the national team championship tournament.
1. TC- Baset Chaudhry d. Mauricio Sanchez, 9-2, 9-2, 9-0
2. TC- Gustav Detter d. Kimlee Wong, 9-5, 9-2, 9-13. P- David Letourneau d. Manek Mathur, 7-9, 9-7, 9-1, 9-5 4. P- David Canner d. Andres Vargas, 9-4, 3-9, 0-9, 9-5, 9-15. P- Hesham El Halaby d. Parth Sharma, 9-7, 9-4, 2-9, 10-86. TC- Supreet Singh d. Santiago Imberton, 5-9, 5-9, 9-4, 9-3, 9-27. TC- Randy Lim d. Tom McKay, 9-3, 9-6, 8-10, 9-08. TC- Simba Muhwati d. Peter Sopher, 9-4, 9-6, 9-09. TC- Rushabh Vora d. Philip Sopher, 9-0, 9-1, 9-6