Princeton University Athletics
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Men's Squash Eyes Tremendous Opportunity Against Duo Of Top-Five Foes
December 05, 2014 | Men's Squash
The 11th-ranked Princeton men's squash team can create some chaos for the next set of collegiate rankings with a strong showing in one of the toughest road trips of the season this weekend. The Tigers will make the trek through the Empire State this weekend to play both No. 5 Rochester and No. 2 St. Lawrence.
Princeton (2-1) is coming off a win over No. 13 Drexel Wednesday night, and it will look to take some of that momentum on the road with them. The Tigers got wins from each of their tri-captains, including a 3-2 comeback win by David Hoffman at the No. 3 position. Hoffman had dropped the second and third games, but roared back in the fourth and built a 10-0 lead in the fifth before clinching both an individual and team victory.
Princeton also got wins from members of its other three classes; both junior Michael LeBlanc and sophomore Ben Leizman earned early victories to give Princeton a quick lead, and freshman Abhimanyu Shah improved to 3-0 on the season with a win at the No. 7 position.
The weekend begins Saturday at noon with a showdown at No. 5 Rochester, who earned a 6-3 home win over Princeton last season. The Yellowjackets are 3-1 on the season, with their lone loss coming by a 6-3 score against St. Lawrence. Rochester has a pair of Top 10 players in Neil Cordell and Mario Yanez Tapia to lead its lineup.
The following day, Princeton and St. Lawrence will meet for the first time. The Saints have made a remarkably quick ascension up the national rankings, trailing only Harvard in the latest poll (St. Lawrence and Harvard meet at the Robie Squash Center in Canton this Saturday). The Saints have one of the top players in the sport at the No. 1 position; junior Amr Khalifa is a two-time individual finalist and the 2013 CSA national champion.