They're Back! Princeton Returns To Main Championship Draw, Opens Friday At Top-Seeded Trinity

Besides winning the Ivy League title, there was no goal greater for the 2017-18 Princeton men's squash team than returning to the 'A' flight at the CSA national team championships for the first time since 2013. On Friday at 4 pm, the Tigers will officially make their return to the Potter Cup draw.

If that means playing the reigning champion and top-seeded Trinity Bantams on their home court, so be it.

Princeton (9-6) earned the eighth seed for this weekend's CSA championships, which will be held at Trinity, and will open against the weekend favorite Bantams (17-0), who just defeated the Tigers 8-1 on their home courts last weekend. Princeton junior Cody Cortes posted the lone win of the day for the Tigers, a 3-2 comeback at the #5 position.

Princeton had two critical victories to help clinch the berth in the main victories; first came an 8-1 home win over Yale in the last match before finals. That provided the key margin between the two teams, as the Bulldogs finished as the top seed in the 'B' flight. The Tigers followed that with a 5-4 road win at sixth-seeded Penn, the Tigers' highest-ranked victory under head coach Sean Wilkinson.

Barring a Friday upset, Princeton will get an opportunity Saturday to play one of two teams that it lost to 5-4 earlier in the season. The Tigers would face either fourth-seeded St. Lawrence or fifth-seeded Dartmouth at 11 am Saturday, with the winner earning the right for a top-5 finish nationally on Sunday.

While Princeton has been led by youth, including Ivy League Rookie of the Year Youssef Ibrahim, Wilkinson is thrilled to see senior co-captains Abhimanyu Shah and Komron Shayegan finish their Tiger careers in the championship draw, considering the work that duo has put in bringing the program back after a tough stretch. That duo combined for 17 wins this season, and Shayegan pushed his Trinity opponent to five games last weekend.

You can find more information on the weekend here. Also, follow @princetonmsq and GoPrincetonTigers.com for updates throughout the weekend.

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