Princeton University Athletics
Despite Pair Of Top-8 Wins, Squash Pushed Into 'B' Flight At Nationals
February 18, 2015 | Men's Squash
Despite victories over both No. 7 Franklin & Marshall and No. 8 Penn this season, the Princeton men's squash team finds itself on the outside of the main draw for this weekend's CSA national team championships at Trinity.
Princeton will be the top seed for the Hoehn Cup draw and will open play Friday at 11:30 am against Bates College. The Tigers won the Hoehn Cup last season with a 5-4 victory over Columbia.
While the Tigers had the head-to-head victories over the two teams ranked ahead of them in the final poll (6-3 over Franklin & Marshall; 5-4 over Penn), several factors seemed to work against them in the final decision:
• Of the three teams, F&M had the biggest upset of the year, a 5-4 home win over sixth-seeded Rochester.
• Timing: Princeton defeated both F&M and Penn before the final weekend of the season, when Penn topped Cornell at home and Princeton lost to Cornell on the road.
• Close losses: Princeton hurt themselves with an early-season 5-4 loss at Navy and the 5-4 loss at Cornell to close the year. The Tigers also had 6-3 losses to Ivy rivals Columbia and Yale, both of whom are ranked in the Top 5.
It's unclear how the committee took into account the winning triangle for Princeton vs. F&M and Penn, when compared to the loss against Penn/Cornell triangle. That left Princeton (2-6 against Top 9 teams) one spot below Penn (0-8 against Top 9 teams, including the 5-4 loss at Princeton).
"We're very disappointed with the decision, as we feel our results have earned us a place in the 'A' flight," head coach Sean Wilkinson said. "We also understand that we could have done more to keep ourselves out of this position, and we will use that as motivation moving forward. The depth in men's squash is greater than it has ever been, and our guys will be ready to represent Princeton at the highest level this weekend at Trinity."
Should Princeton win Friday, it would play the winner of the Drexel-Williams match Saturday at 11:30 am; Princeton defeated Drexel 6-3 this season, and it did not play Williams. If the Tigers return to the Hoehn Cup final, they will likely see either No. 10 Cornell or No. 11 Dartmouth in a 10:30 am matchup.