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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Squash Prepares Run For Dream Finish At CSA Team Championships
February 19, 2009 | Men's Squash
For three young men who learned their craft on three different continents, this is the dream scenario. Senior tri-captains Mauricio Sanchez, Kimlee Wong and Hesham El Halaby came from far different points on the globe and met at Princeton, where their combined greatness led a tradition-rich program to its greatest era ever.
“The Amigos,” as termed by veteran head coach Bob Callahan, have experienced almost every success imaginable as the driving force of the Princeton men's squash program. They will graduate as the only senior class to win four straight Ivy League championships, and they have already experienced three national championship finals.
It's been a nearly perfect ride, except for the one final bump in the road. That final Sunday has seen Princeton play the bridesmaid to Trinity's bride each of the last three years. Not that there is any shame to that, since Trinity has perfected the bride's role over the last 10 years.
But this is the final walk for the Class of 2009, and what a dream it would be to the first team to defeat Trinity since the 1998 national team final (more on that later).
Dream scenarios have been in play twice at the Jadwin Squash Courts this decade. In 2003, the great senior class of Will Evans, David Yik, Dan Rutherford and Eric Pearson had finished winning a third Ivy League title in four years. A group that once occupied the top four spots in the lineup moved back one position for a freshman named Yasser El Halaby, who was embarking on the greatest collegiate career in men's squash history.
That class believed it could end Trinity's four-year title run in its final match at Jadwin. Princeton lost 6-3.
Three years later, El Halaby had won three straight individual national titles and led Princeton to two Ivy League titles. Joined by a great trio of freshmen, including his younger brother, Hesham, the 2006 Princeton Tigers came within a point of topping Trinity during the regular season.
El Halaby believed that team could end Trinity's seven-year title run in his final match at Jadwin. Princeton lost 5-4.
Could the third dream scenario be a charming one? Princeton will find out this weekend when it hosts the 2009 CSA team championships, which will be held throughout the Princeton campus and at the nearby Lawrenceville School.
The second-seeded Tigers will open play Friday at 2:30 p.m. against the seventh-seeded Penn Quakers at the Jadwin Squash Courts in the first round of the Potter Cup (there are eight divisions being played this weekend; the Potter Cup is the 'A' Division). Princeton swept Penn 9-0 and won all nine matches by 9-0 scores. The Quakers clinched the seventh seed by holding off Dartmouth in a late-season 5-4 victory.
Should Princeton win, it would face the winner of the No. 3 Yale/No. 6 Rochester quarterfinal, which will be played Friday at the Lawrenceville School at noon. Other than Trinity, Yale is the only team to take at least one individual match from Princeton this season; on Jan. 31, the Bulldogs won the No. 8 and No. 9 matches in a 7-2 loss to Princeton.
While Yale holds the higher seed, it isn't the overwhelming favorite that a No. 3 typically is during the quarterfinal round. Yale defeated Rochester 5-4 in the regular season and won two of those matches by 3-2 scores.
The Princeton/Penn vs. Yale/Rochester semifinal will be the first one Saturday (12 p.m.) at the Jadwin Courts. Following the match will the second semifinal, likely between Trinity and the winner of the No. 4 Cornell/No. 5 Harvard match. Trinity swept both teams during the regular season and is an overwhelming favorite to be there Sunday.
Sunday's final will be played at 1:30 Sunday on Jadwin Courts 1, 3 and 5. Like all other CSA team championship matches, it will be played in a three-shift format, with matches 3, 6 and 9 leading off, followed by 2, 5 and 8 and then 1, 4 and 7.
GoPrincetonTigers.com will have nightly recaps during the team championships. To see all of the weekend draws, click here.
“The Amigos,” as termed by veteran head coach Bob Callahan, have experienced almost every success imaginable as the driving force of the Princeton men's squash program. They will graduate as the only senior class to win four straight Ivy League championships, and they have already experienced three national championship finals.
It's been a nearly perfect ride, except for the one final bump in the road. That final Sunday has seen Princeton play the bridesmaid to Trinity's bride each of the last three years. Not that there is any shame to that, since Trinity has perfected the bride's role over the last 10 years.
But this is the final walk for the Class of 2009, and what a dream it would be to the first team to defeat Trinity since the 1998 national team final (more on that later).
Dream scenarios have been in play twice at the Jadwin Squash Courts this decade. In 2003, the great senior class of Will Evans, David Yik, Dan Rutherford and Eric Pearson had finished winning a third Ivy League title in four years. A group that once occupied the top four spots in the lineup moved back one position for a freshman named Yasser El Halaby, who was embarking on the greatest collegiate career in men's squash history.
That class believed it could end Trinity's four-year title run in its final match at Jadwin. Princeton lost 6-3.
Three years later, El Halaby had won three straight individual national titles and led Princeton to two Ivy League titles. Joined by a great trio of freshmen, including his younger brother, Hesham, the 2006 Princeton Tigers came within a point of topping Trinity during the regular season.
El Halaby believed that team could end Trinity's seven-year title run in his final match at Jadwin. Princeton lost 5-4.
Could the third dream scenario be a charming one? Princeton will find out this weekend when it hosts the 2009 CSA team championships, which will be held throughout the Princeton campus and at the nearby Lawrenceville School.
The second-seeded Tigers will open play Friday at 2:30 p.m. against the seventh-seeded Penn Quakers at the Jadwin Squash Courts in the first round of the Potter Cup (there are eight divisions being played this weekend; the Potter Cup is the 'A' Division). Princeton swept Penn 9-0 and won all nine matches by 9-0 scores. The Quakers clinched the seventh seed by holding off Dartmouth in a late-season 5-4 victory.
Should Princeton win, it would face the winner of the No. 3 Yale/No. 6 Rochester quarterfinal, which will be played Friday at the Lawrenceville School at noon. Other than Trinity, Yale is the only team to take at least one individual match from Princeton this season; on Jan. 31, the Bulldogs won the No. 8 and No. 9 matches in a 7-2 loss to Princeton.
While Yale holds the higher seed, it isn't the overwhelming favorite that a No. 3 typically is during the quarterfinal round. Yale defeated Rochester 5-4 in the regular season and won two of those matches by 3-2 scores.
The Princeton/Penn vs. Yale/Rochester semifinal will be the first one Saturday (12 p.m.) at the Jadwin Courts. Following the match will the second semifinal, likely between Trinity and the winner of the No. 4 Cornell/No. 5 Harvard match. Trinity swept both teams during the regular season and is an overwhelming favorite to be there Sunday.
Sunday's final will be played at 1:30 Sunday on Jadwin Courts 1, 3 and 5. Like all other CSA team championship matches, it will be played in a three-shift format, with matches 3, 6 and 9 leading off, followed by 2, 5 and 8 and then 1, 4 and 7.
GoPrincetonTigers.com will have nightly recaps during the team championships. To see all of the weekend draws, click here.
Tuesday, June 04
Saturday, February 10
Wednesday, June 22
Monday, June 06