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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Squash Opens Ivy League Seasons Saturday At Penn; Women Face Top-5 Rival
November 29, 2011 | Men's Squash
The Princeton men's and women's squash teams will open their 2011-12 Ivy League seasons Saturday afternoon in the Ringe Squash Courts at the University of Pennsylvania. The women's match, which will be played second, will feature two of the top five teams in the country.
The third-ranked Tiger men will begin play at 1 p.m. against the ninth-ranked Quakers. Princeton is currently 2-0 on the season, including a hard-fought 7-2 victory over a much-improved Franklin & Marshall team. Led by reigning individual national champion Todd Harrity and senior co-captains Chris Callis and Kelly Shannon, the Tigers have one of the strongest top trios in the nation. They will be depending on youth in other key spots, including freshman Tyler Osborne, who has wins at the No. 3 and No. 4 spot already this season.
Penn will play its season opener Wednesday night at home against Drexel. They are led by veteran co-captains Thomas Mattsson and Trevor McGuinness, both of whom are well-versed in the Princeton-Penn rivalry.
Speaking of rivalries, the one between the Princeton and Penn women's teams has become one of the best in the Ivy League over recent years. During the 2007-08 season, Penn knocked off the Tigers to win the Ivy League title, but Princeton returned the favor in the Howe Cup national team final to win its second of three straight national team titles.
That script held true last year, as Penn defeated Princeton in the regular season, but Princeton bounced back with a 7-2 quarterfinal win in the Howe Cup team championships. That set up a brilliant final weekend, when the Tigers nearly upset eventual champion Yale and defeated No. 3 Trinity 5-4 to finish third nationally.
Princeton is 2-0 on the season and has won every individual game it has played, though Saturday will certainly provide the toughest test of the young season. While junior Julie Cerullo is still a strong No. 1 for Princeton, the Tigers started at least six underclassmen in both of their first two wins. Sophomore Libby Eyre and Lexi Saunders are among that group, and both should play among the top four this weekend.