Men's Squash: Princeton wins national championship

The men’s squash team won the national championship on Sunday afternoon. As straightforward as that statement may seem, it doesn’t begin to describe the magnitude of the victory the Tigers achieved.

The last time Princeton won the Potter Cup was in 1993, when it took the title from Harvard, who subsequently reclaimed it the following year. In 1999, Trinity began a 13-year winning streak, exclusively dominating the squash scene as it endured over a decade without dropping a single match. And the last time Princeton reached the national final was in 2009. The Tigers lost 5-4 in an excruciatingly close match that came down to the fifth game of the final individual pairing.

Against the backdrop of that intimidating history, the men’s team entered the national championship tournament this past weekend, which was held at Jadwin Gymnasium for the first time since 2009. The Tigers faced Trinity in the finals, echoing their run to the championship match three years ago. Furthermore, having lost to Trinity earlier in the season, Princeton was looking to redeem itself when it really counted.

“It was hard to appreciate those matches four years ago,” senior Chris Callis said. “Looking back, our regular season and national final might have been the two best collegiate matches ever. We have a level of appreciation of getting here.”

The start of the match looked positive for Princeton when it opened with three first-game wins. The Tigers got on the scoreboard first when freshman Tyler Osborne swept his opponent at No. 3. After splitting the first four games, senior Clay Blackiston came back with an eight-point streak in the final game to win his match 3-2 at No. 6. After the end of the first shift, the Tigers led 2-1.

The Tigers ran into difficulty in the second shift. When Princeton played Trinity a few weeks back, the Tigers lost each match of the second shift. The highlight of the second round was at No. 2, where Callis took on Trinity’s Antonio Diaz in a match extending to the fifth game. This was Callis’ second extended match, as he overcame a 2-0 deficit to win his individual match on Saturday against Cornell.

Callis started his match strong, taking the first game while only dropping four points. Diaz won the next two, eliciting simultaneous cheers of “Let’s go Tigers!” and “Let’s go Bantams!” from the crowd. Callis came back to win the fourth game, forcing the match to go the distance. However, Diaz managed to take the lead of the fifth, ultimately winning 11-6. The Tigers lost the other two matches of the second shift as well, and entered the third trailing Trinity 4-2, needing to sweep the third shift to win the match.

At No. 1, junior Todd Harrity was on fire from the beginning, taking the first game 11-6 against Trinity’s Vikram Malhotra. Malhotra provided one of Harrity’s two losses of the season at Trinity in a game that finished 3-2. However, Harrity proved that Malhotra’s victory had been nothing more than a fluke, sweeping his opponent 3-0. Sophomore Dylan Ward also defeated his opponent at No. 7.

Thus, the championship came down to the last individual match at No. 4, where senior Kelly Shannon faced Reinhold Hergeth. Shannon was down 8-4 in the beginning of the first set, but he came back to tie it at 11 before taking the win 13-11. He took that momentum into the remaining two games, commanding the court with a stellar series of shots, including a behind-the-back winner in the second game. With a drop shot to the corner, Shannon finished off the 11-7 third game, bringing the title back to Princeton.

For Princeton seniors, the match was redemption for their 5-4 loss to Trinity in their rookie season.

“I’m so happy to be back,” Callis said. “For us seniors, it has come full circle now.”

Trinity had seen the end of its 252-match streak earlier in the season when it fell to Yale. This weekend however, Cornell, who Princeton needed to defeat to get to the finals, had knocked out Yale earlier in the tournament. Princeton avoided a first-round upset, defeating Dartmouth 8-1 on Friday.

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To beat Cornell 7-2 on Saturday, the Tigers needed a strong performance from their seniors. Blackiston finished off his opponenent in three sets, reiterating his consistency in his wins. Furthermore, seniors Callis and David Pena came back from 2-0 deficits to win their matches in five.

Thus, after Princeton fell to the Bantams three years ago, the Tigers came away this weekend with a truly deserved win, making their victory even sweeter.

"I love my team," Callis said.

With the victory, the Tigers extended a notable streak of their own: In each of the last 41 school years, a Princeton athlete or team has won a national championship. Last year, Harrity was responsible for continuing that tradition, winning the individual men’s squash title. This time, he had help from his teammates.

The men will compete in the individual championships, of which Harrity is the reigning champion, starting March 2 at Amherst.