The Ivy League title could be at stake for both the men’s and women’s squash teams this weekend.
The No. 2 men’s squash team (10–1, 3–0 Ivy) will face the third-ranked Princeton men’s team, while the women’s team (11–0, 3–0) will face the fourth-ranked Tigers. Both men’s captain Naishadh Lalwani ’11 and women’s captain Logan Greer ’11 said that losses to such highly-ranked teams could end their teams’ hopes for Ivy League titles.
“One of our main goals this season was to retain the Ivy title,” Lalwani said. “A win on Saturday would take us very close to that ring. They are very strong at the top. They just have a lot of good players, and there is a lot of history between the two teams, which adds to the intensity.”
The men’s team is coming off a strong weekend performance after dropping to Trinity last Wednesday. The team bounced back against No. 9 Franklin and Marshall, No. 4 Rochester, and No. 15 Navy with three straight wins.
The Bulldogs will face an undefeated Princeton team that promises to be a challenge. However, the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers comfortably last year, 6–3. Two years ago, the story was quite different, with Princeton handily defeating Yale 7–2.
The Tigers may be rusty this weekend, as they just went seven weeks without playing a match. However, they did defeat Penn last night 9–0.
“Princeton is ranked No. 3 in the country so they are obviously as tough as they come,” Lalwani said.
According to Lalwani, his team has been improving since its loss to Trinity, and last weekend’s win against the fourth-ranked Rochester was a big morale booster for the Elis.
The Princeton team boasts a number of strong players, including Todd Harrity, the top player in the nation.
“Our biggest advantage is going to be our conditioning and depth,” Lalwani said. “No team works as hard as we do, and hopefully that will pay dividends on Saturday.”
The women’s team will face a strong Princeton squad that is looking to upset the Bulldogs.
“Princeton is always a very important match in our season,” Sarah Toomey ‘11 said. “The work the team has put in since August is really paying off and everyone is playing very well. Our advantage is our match-play experience. Not only do we compete regularly against our fellow teammates, but we have played a much harder schedule thus far.”
Like its men’s team, Princeton’s women’s team had not played a match in more than seven weeks until its contest against Penn last night. The result of the match was not released at the time of this article.
But prior to its hiatus, the team was undefeated. The Tigers will be led by Julie Cerullo and Jackie Moss, who are both ranked among the top 12 in the nation.
But the Bulldogs should match up well with Princeton as Greer, Toomey, and Millie Tomlinson ’14 are also all in the top 10. Greer also added that playing at home will be a huge advantage for the team.
“The Princeton squash team is extremely deep and talented,” Greer said. “Every player in their lineup is a strong competitor.”
Yale and Princeton will face off at the Brady Squash Center at 1 p.m on Saturday.