.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
With 'A' Flight In Sight, Tigers Return For 4:30 Wednesday Match vs. Penn
January 27, 2015 | Men's Squash
While you can argue almost anything, it's tough to debate this point: Wednesday night will be the most anticipated Penn-Princeton squash doubleheader in decades, if not ever.
The nightcap promises to be as tense as ever, as the Princeton women will look to move back into a first-place tie in the league, while Penn tries to remain unbeaten. But this matchup has been 1 vs. 2 in recent years, so it's nothing new here.
The men's rivalry, though, has changed significantly.
| Date • Time | Jan. 28 • 4:30 pm (two shifts) |
| Watch Live | Ivy League Digital Network |
| @PtonMSquash • @PUTigers • @PUTigers_Live | |
| Rosters | Princeton • Penn |
| Schedules | Princeton • Penn |
| What's Next? | Princeton travels to Yale and Brown this weekend |
It had been 40 years since Princeton had lost to Penn prior to last season's 7-2 stunner for the Quakers, a win that helped the Philadelphia program displace the Tigers from the 'A' flight. That alone was more than enough to have the Tigers circle the Jan. 28 showdown in sharpie on their calendars.
But now that the inside position to the 2015 CSA national team championships goes to Wednesday's winner, it's safe to say that the stakes simply couldn't be higher.
Princeton, by virtue of victories over Franklin & Marshall and Dartmouth, has moved to the No. 8 position in the latest CSA rankings, which would return the Tigers to the 'A' flight of the team championships should they remain there. Penn is currently No. 10, but a win at Princeton could easily flip the two programs in the next set of rankings.
Obviously, there are plenty more matches to be played for both teams, but Princeton's only remaining match against a team below it in the rankings would come the following Saturday against No. 14 Brown.
In other words, should Princeton start the second half of its season 2-0, it would take something monumental by another team to stake any claim to the Tigers' spot in the 'A' flight.
But that is all banking on a Tiger win Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 pm against a Penn team that followed last season's win with a victory over Princeton at the Ivy scrimmages. The Quakers have posted fairly similar results to Princeton this season; both lost 7-2 to Harvard, and both fell 7-2 to a Top-2 program (St. Lawrence or Trinity).
“We lost to them close at Ivy Scrimmages, and obviously last year's result wasn't what we wanted, but we were without Tyler and several starters, and this year, we're fully healthy,” head coach Sean Wilkinson said. “Coming to Jadwin is tough for most teams. I don't think it's an easy place to play. But what Jack, Gilly and Richard have done there has been great. Their guys are fired up, and so are ours. Both want to be in that 'A' flight. They're a good team. No question it will be a huge battle.”
The match will be played over two shifts, beginning at 4:30 pm, and all five courts will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
As Wilkinson alluded to, Princeton comes into the match as healthy as it has been over the last two seasons. That includes the presence of freshman Jarryd Osborne, who was ill throughout November and December. Osborne, the younger brother of tri-captain Tyler Osborne, made his debut during the Harvard-Dartmouth weekend.
Osborne is likely to be the only underclassman to play in the top half of a lineup that will be senior-laden. The All-America duo of Samuel Kang and Tyler Osborne know they have precious few matches remaining in their Jadwin careers, and they realize this is probably the biggest one left in a team setting (Jadwin will play host to the individual championships Feb. 27-March 1).
Fellow seniors David Hoffman and Taylor Tutrone also figure to be key factors around the top or middle of the lineup, and both have produced big wins in their careers. Juniors Michael LeBlanc and Sam Ezratty carry big wins from the Dartmouth match, while freshman Abhimanyu Shah and Ben Leizman both have strong records on the season.
Besides the challenge of facing a tough opponent in a pressure-packed situation, Princeton will also be dealing with a 17-day match layoff due to the finals break. Wilkinson took a more proactive approach to the training plan this year, though.
“It's accountability,” he said. “That's what it comes down to. We brought the guys back 10 days earlier than usual during the Christmas break. Part of that was to prepare for the Harvard-Dartmouth weekend, and part of it was giving guys extra time on campus to do work.
“Over the finals break, it's optional; the guys sign up for time slots, Neil and I make ourselves available, and it keeps them accountable to get down here,” Wilkinson added. “The guys know the task at hand. Four years ago, the guys could get away with not doing very much over exam period. Now, there's just no chance. We've had a high attendance rate at practices. Keeping our fitness is important, and the guys are pushing. We have good leaders to keep them going.”
Wednesday's match begins a stretch when Princeton plays six matches over 18 days, including the final four against teams ranked above it in the poll. Following the matches with Penn and Brown, the Tigers will travel to New Haven, Conn., to take on Yale. Princeton can bring the confidence from last season's near-upset of the Bulldogs in a match that came down to the fifth game of the ninth match.
Yale won the Ivy Scrimmages this year, but then dropped its Ivy League opener to a Columbia team that will head to Jadwin Feb. 6 at 2 pm. The Lions, who have gone from non-existent to potential league champion in the blink of an eye, have a potential individual champion in senior Ramit Tandon, who handed Princeton's Todd Harrity '13 his only CSA individual championships loss prior to the finals (2012).
Princeton also faces No. 7 Cornell Feb. 8 in Ithaca, and then will honor its Class of 2015 during Senior Day on Feb. 14 in the regular season finale against Trinity. It will be a fitting final team match for that group, as their legacy will always include their 2012 home triumph over the Bantams for the national team championship.