M. squash looks to finish strong in Ivies

Going into their match on Sat., Feb. 3, both the number-four Bulldogs and the number-three Princeton Tigers maintained an undefeated record in Ivy League play. That was all about to change as both teams battled in front of a packed crowd at Yale's Brady Squash Center. Though leading 3-1 after the first round of matches, the Elis' lead diminished to a 4-4 tie with one match to go. In the end, the Princeton squad captured the win by clinching the last match to finalize its strong come-from-behind 5-4 performance.

MELISSA GARREN/YH Men's squash hopes to rebound after a tough loss to Princeton last weekend.

"The fact that we lost is disappointing, but we shouldn't add to that by taking on a self-defeating attitude," Joe Cohen, JE '02, said. "We were very close to winning, and furthermore, we were all playing well. We should be proud of all our accomplishments."

Despite losing a tight competition to its rival, the team recognizes that it did secure four solid wins against a powerhouse Tiger squad that had eight out of its nine players returning from last season. More importantly, these four victories occurred in both the upper and lower positions of competition. Peter Grote, SM '02, posted a key 3-1 win over the Tigers' Will Evans '03 at the number-two position. Ryan Byrnes, PC '04, and A.J. McCrery, JE '04, also contributed to the team with 3-0 victories over their opponents at the number-six and number-seven spots, respectively. Captain Josh Barenbaum, CC '01, provided Yale with its fourth win in the match, finishing with a score of 3-1 at the number-eight position.

The overall outlook for the team remains positive, especially since Yale's recent 5-4 loss was a vast improvement from last season's 9-0 loss to Princeton. Head Coach David Talbott notes that the team's recent performance has significantly boosted its confidence level, something he hopes his players will build upon in future competitions. "As a team, we are getting up to the next level while at the same time realizing that we can play at that level," he said. "We realize how close we were to winning against Princeton, and that the match could have gone either way."

"Most of our matches were pretty close," McCrery said. "Grote at our number-two position finished with a huge upset. Plus, our losses at some of the other spots were very close as well. We think that we can win against Princeton if we face them again at the end of the season at the intercollegiate championships."

According to Byrnes, the most valuable lesson learned from the weekend loss is that the Bulldogs now recognize that they are capable of securing wins at the top positions as opposed to relying mainly upon the bottom spots. The team hopes to continue achieving broader success at all positions as the season progresses. "We have learned that we can play both at the top and at the bottom levels of competition during our matches," Byrnes said.

On their road trip to Dartmouth on Wed., Feb. 7, Yale hoped to both dominate its opponents and to strengthen its team depth by enabling more lowerclassmen to compete. The team this year has a good mixture of older experience and fresh talent, which has created a uniquely strong and united team. Additionally, in the matchup against the Big Green, the Yale players wanted to prove that they could bounce back from their recent tight loss with a solid Ivy victory. Not only did the Elis respond with an 8-1 win over Dartmouth, but all eight of the winners also outscored their opponents 3-0 in their individual matches.

After boosting their record to 14-2 (4-1 Ivy) for the season, the Elis plan to fine-tune their skills before heading to Denison on Sun., Feb. 11. While the team anticipates a competitive match-up this weekend, many of the players will also be paying close attention to the Harvard-Princeton showdown taking place on Sunday, which could affect Yale's run for the Ivy title. With less than two weeks until their highly anticipated Harvard match, the Bulldogs remain focused on playing consistently in every upcoming match, concentrating both on the physical and mental aspects of their sport. By using each match as a building block, the team hopes to peak just in time to battle the Crimson and perhaps even grab a share of the Ivies. The Harvard match on Wed., Feb. 21 is the final Ivy competition for Yale, and it is definitely the concentration of the team's efforts. "Our main focus is on Harvard," Grote said. "We still believe that we have a shot at the Ivy title. As long as Harvard beats Princeton, we are confident that we can come up big in Cambridge."

Talbott added, "The team's outlook is really optimistic, especially after we licked our wounds after the Princeton match. We want to finish the season with a win over Harvard. The kids are determined to finish out strong."

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