Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Princeton Squash Teams Return Wednesday For Ivy Showdowns With Penn
January 25, 2011 | Men's Squash, Women's Squash
Back on Dec. 5, both the Princeton men's and women's squash teams were completing a perfect road weekend with wins over both Williams and Middlebury College. The Tigers were rolling through the early part of their season, including a pair of Ivy wins over both Cornell and Brown.
That was more than seven weeks ago.
Since then, the third-ranked men and fourth-ranked women have spent their court time in practices, training for what is always a grueling month of competition. That competition will finally begin Wednesday night, when the men host 10th-ranked Penn at 5:00 and the women host fifth-ranked Penn at 7:00.
The Tiger men are 5-0, 2-0 in Ivy play, and have 40 of their 45 individual matches. Sophomore Todd Harrity, the top-ranked player in college squash, has led the way, but a deep and talented senior class will be crucial in Princeton's progress over the next month. That class is led by co-captains David Letourneau and Peter Sopher, both of whom are experienced starters for Bob Callahan's crew. Letourneau was ranked fourth nationally in the last individual rankings, while Sopher was just outside the top 30.
The Quaker men are led by first-year head coach Jack Wyant, a former three-time All-America and four-time All-Ivy honoree while playing under Callahan at Princeton. Wyant, who led the Tigers to the 1993 national team title, is also in his seventh year as the head coach of the Penn women.
The women's match features a pair of Top 5 teams who will both look to challenge both No. 1 Harvard and No. 2 Yale for Ivy League and national supremacy. The Princeton women are 6-0 overall, 2-0 in the Ivy League, and have won 52 of 54 individual matches. While a deep senior class graduated last year, head coach Gail Ramsay has brought in a group of freshmen that impressed immediately. Libby Eyre has played atop that group, although Lexi Saunders, Alex Sawin and Caroline Feeley have each earned Ivy wins.
The Princeton women have been led by All-America candidates Julie Cerullo and Jackie Moss, both of whom were ranked individually in the Top 12 at the start of the season.
Penn is 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Ivy League, but it nearly pulled off a big upset in early December at Yale. The Quakers fell 5-4 in New Haven, a match that included one five-set loss and a pair of four-set losses.