Squash: Trinity extends streak to 240 wins at Jadwin

But as the many Orange-and-Black-clad fans in attendance discovered once again, there is a reason the Bantams (16-0) have strung together such a sustained reign of excellence. In the latest installment of the greatest rivalry in college squash, Trinity ran its streak to 240 straight wins with a 6-3 victory over Princeton (9-2 overall, 5-1 Ivy League).

“I think we just dug ourselves in a hole in the first shift,” senior No. 2 and co-captain Dave Letourneau said. “There’s no blame; the guys played hard. You can’t be down 3-0 in the first shift against a team like Trinity.”

The match was played in three shifts, and after six individual matches, Trinity held a 4-2 lead. The Bantams wrapped up the victory in the first match of the final shift when Johan Detter topped senior No. 7 Phil Sopher 3-1. After Sopher jumped out to a 1-0 lead, Detter took advantage of his height and strong front-court game to keep Sopher on the run throughout the match’s final three games.

“One thing that was difficult for me was getting the ball by him to the back wall since he was so tall,” Sopher said. “He was able to put a lot of pressure on me, nestle the ball really tightly against the wall on his counter drops and drops, play low risk smart squash and wear me down. That’s what prevailed.”

Though the Tigers lost the overall match, the team left with the confidence that, if given another shot, it has the talent to turn the tide against Trinity. Of the Tigers’ six losses, one went the maximum five games, and three others went four.

“The people who lost, for the most part, lost tight matches,” Sopher said. “It’s not like these guys are out of our league. They’re very good, but if we play them again at nationals, I would like our chances.”

Princeton’s three wins came courtesy of sophomore No. 1 Todd Harrity, Letourneau and junior No. 8 Clay Blackiston. Letourneau’s win over Trinity’s Parth Sharma provided a small bit of personal revenge. Two years ago, Letourneau came within two points of defeating Sharma in the finals of the College Squash Association’s National Team Championships. A win by Letourneau would have given Princeton the team title and ended Trinity’s streak in 2009. This time around, Letourneau showed that he has made major strides over the past year. After dropping the first game, Letourneau won the next three for a 3-1 victory.

“I was really tired [during] the first two games, and mentally, I just told myself to stick with it,” Letourneau said. “The crowd was awesome. The third and fourth [games] were just good squash. I was thinking positively the first time, hitting great length. I think he was a little tired as well, and I’m a different player now than I have been in the past few years.”

Harrity, the No. 1-ranked player in the country, remained unbeaten this season, defeating Trinity No. 1 Vikram Malhotra 3-0.

Though far more people witnessed the team’s loss to Trinity, Princeton recorded its most impressive performance of the season one day earlier when it rolled to an 8-1 victory over No. 4 Rochester (9-3).

The Tigers used first-shift wins from junior No. 3 Chris Callis, junior No. 6 David Pena and senior No. 9 Nikhil Seth to grab early control of the match and never looked back. By the end of the second shift, the Tigers had put the match away and held a 6-0 lead.

“The match against Rochester, we had nine guys play very, very well,” Letourneau said. “[Against Trinity], we had nine guys play well. It’s tough to have two great performances back to back, but that’s what we’re going to have to do to win a national championship.”

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The women’s team swept Mount Holyoke (13-10) 9-0 but fell 8-1 at No. 3 Trinity (13-2). The Tigers will host the Howe Cup, the national team squash tournament, next weekend at Jadwin.