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Princeton University Athletics
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Men's Squash Eyes Home Championships With Blend Of Experience, Youth
November 18, 2011 | Men's Squash
Every three years, the CSA national team championships comes to the Jadwin Squash Courts, and it always seems to coincide with a memorable season for the Princeton men's squash team.
In 2003, freshman Yasser El Halaby rallied from the bleakest of situations past Yale's Julian Illingworth, currently the top-ranked professional player in the U.S., to help Princeton win its third Ivy League title in four years. Princeton reached the final of the team championships, but lost 5-4 to Trinity.
In 2006, El Halaby became the first collegiate men's player to win four consecutive individual titles, and he did so after helping Princeton to its first Ivy League team title since 2003. Princeton again reached the final of the team championships, but it lost 5-4 to Trinity.
In 2009, with possibly its best team ever, Princeton rolled to a perfect Ivy League season and won 52 of 54 individual matches. The season ended with arguably the greatest CSA final ever, a 6.5-hour epic that again ended with a 5-4 Trinity victory.
That was three years ago. Can you guess what's coming up?
There is plenty of reason to be excited for the 2011-12 season, which begins Saturday at Franklin & Marshall and continues Sunday in the 1:00 home opener against Middlebury, and it doesn't just center around the CSA team championships returning to Princeton. The Ivy League appears as deep as it has been in years, and Princeton could be one of four teams vying for the title during the final weekend.
Head coach Bob Callahan has plenty of experience in his possible lineup this season, including former All-Americas Chris Callis and Kelly Shannon.
He has a pair of freshmen in Samuel Kang and Tyler Osborne who could make immediate impacts around the top of the lineup.
He has depth at the bottom of the lineup, including veterans who have already shown the ability to win in key situations.
And he has Todd Harrity.
The last of those attributes will play first for Princeton this year, as he has done throughout his collegiate career. Harrity went 20-0 last season and became the first American-born player to win the CSA individual title since 1990. He didn't lose a single game throughout the individual postseason; in fact, he won each of his last 57 individual games.
And Callahan thinks his experiences this past summer has made him even better heading into this season.
Harrity played for the U.S. team in the 2011 World Team Championships and helped the American squad to a seventh-place finish, its best since 1983. Harrity earned key wins over Canada and India, and he will enter the collegiate season as the top-ranked player in the country. There are a slew of challengers to his spot, including 2011 finalist Nick Sachvie and newcomers like Ramit Tendon (Columbia), Ali Farag (Harvard) and Aditya Jagtap (Cornell), but Harrity gives Princeton a huge edge at the No. 1 spot.
Callis and Shannon could likely compete for the No. 1 spot on most teams, but each will be called upon to be important contributors near the top of the Tiger lineup. While both have already put together impressive careers, Callahan suspects the best is still to come for each.
First of all, both are healthy, which is a rarity. Callis hasn't had a healthy fall since his freshman season, and that is still one more healthy one than Shannon has experienced. Callis had his best season as a freshman, going 12-1 and earning Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors. He won 10 matches last season despite early injuries, and he carries plenty of big-match experience into this season, considering he has played the majority of his career around the No. 3 position. He has a variety of ways to attack the ball and can find openings in his opponent's game, and take advantage.
Shannon would love nothing more than to carry his late success last season into his senior campaign. His season didn't begin until late January, but by the individual championships, his game was ready. He went 5-1 and finished ninth overall, and each of his five victories were over players ranked in the top seven. A tough competitor with all the shots, Shannon would love to repeat last season's first-team All-America season with an even better year.
Those two will likely compete with Kang and Osborne for positions two through five. Kang has won both the junior and senior national championships in Singapore, and he has the type of speed and fitness that could make him very tough to beat. He is also a tough competitor, which was evident in several comeback wins in his career. Osborne also had a top junior career in Canada, and brings a strong tactical game and a competitive personality to Princeton. He is a steady player who rarely beats himself, and he is excited for the challenge of playing at the collegiate level.
Callahan could see any of the four playing two, and he could see any playing five; most importantly, he believes each could have success at any of the positions.
Seniors Clay Blackiston and David Pena could play the next two positions, although Pena won't be able to compete until the spring semester because he is currently studying abroad. Pena played much of his season at No. 6 last season and won seven matches, but he has an impressive career record of 30-12 in his career. He'll need to shake any rust off quickly because the schedule is challenging in January, but he is a tough competitor who desperately wants an Ivy League title to end his career.
Blackiston has gone 28-6 over the last two seasons, including 18-3 last year, and he won the 2011 second-round consolation draw at the Molloy Cup. He finds ways to win, and the experience he gained in wins over Trinity and Rochester last season will make him even tougher this year.
Those seven will carry the most varsity experience into the season, but Callahan has been at this long enough to know that Princeton will need wins from the 8 and 9 spots somewhere down the line, and he has several players who will compete for those positions.
Junior Steve Harrington, a regular of the Ivy League champion baseball team, won two matches last season and even experienced the CSA semifinal at the No. 9 position. He showed great improvement last season and will factor into the mix, as will sophomore Ash Egan, who went 6-0 as a freshman last season. Both he and classmate Dylan Ward, who won twice last season, can build off a year of experience.
Freshmen Taylor Tutrone and David Hoffman both had solid careers at The Gilman School, and both will compete for playing time, as will walk-ons Chris Greco and Jacob Lee.