Trinity Squads Host Harvard Tonight, Preview by David Kingsley Hartford, Conn., February 3, 2014
- The Trinity College men's and women’s squash teams will host the
Harvard University Crimson on Tuesday, February 4 at Kellner Center at
6 p.m. The defending National Champion Trinity men are ranked No. 1 in
the College Squash Association (CSA) National Poll, while the Crimson
is ranked No. 2 nationally. In women’s squash, the Bantams are ranked
No. 2 and defending National Champion Harvard is ranked No. 1.
The Trinity men,
coached by Paul Assaiante (20th season), is 15-0 and has won 34 matches
overall and 162 consecutive home matches dating back to the 1995-96
season. Trinity has outscored its opponents by a combined score of,
119-16, this winter, having swept Colby, Middlebury, and Williams by a
combined score of 27-0 over the weekend to take its eighth consecutive
New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship
title. The Bantam women’s squad, coached by Wendy Bartlett (30th
season), is 11-0 after posting 9-0 victories over Wesleyan, Middlebury,
and Bates to capture its eighth consecutive New England Small College
Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship title.
Senior captain Matthew
Mackin (Greenwich, Conn.) leads the Bantam men with a 14-0 record,
while junior John Lamont (Montreal, Quebec) is 9-0, and juniors
Moustafa Hamada (Alexandria, Egypt) and Elroy Leong (Selangor,
Malaysia), and sophomore Zeyad Elshorafy (Alexandria, Egypt) are all
14-1. Sophomore Juan Vargas (Bogota, Colombia) was ranked No. 13
nationally and junior Miled Zarazua (Mexico City, Mexico) was No. 19
among individuals at the end of the 2012-13 campaign. Trinity has
beaten all five teams in the top eight in the nation it has played,
including 5-4 victories against No. 3-ranked Yale and No. 6-ranked
Franklin and Marshall and a 7-2 triumph against No. 5-ranked Rochester.
Sophomore Sachika
Balvani (Mumbai, India.) tops the Bantam women with an 11-0 record,
while senior co-captain Catalina Pelaez (Bogota, Colombia) and
first-years Alexia Echeverria (San Salvador, El Salvador) and Anna
Kimberley (Essex, England) are each 9-0 this winter. Sophomore
Kanzy El Defrawy (Cairo, Egypt) was ranked No. 2 nationally, while
Pelaez was No. 9 and senior Wee Nee Low (Penang, Malaydia) was No. 20
among individuals at the end of the 2012-13 campaign. Trinity has
beaten all five other teams ranked among the top eight in the nation it
has played, including a 6-3 victory against No. 3-ranked Pennsylvania
and a 5-4 triumph at No. 53-ranked Yale.
The Harvard men,
coached by Mike Way (4th Season), is 11-0 after winning at Columbia,
8-1, on Sunday. The Crimson already own 8-1 wins against No.
4-ranked St. Lawrence and Rochester, and have outscored their opponents
by a combined score of 103-5. Seniors Ali Farag (Cairo, Egypt)
and Brandon McLaughlin (Villanova, Pa.) were ranked among the nation's
top 20 players at the close of 2012-13.
Harvard, also coached
by Way, is 9-0 after winning 9-0, at Columbia on Sunday. The
Crimson downed No. 3-ranked Pennsylvania and No. 4-ranked Princeton by
6-3 scores earlier this season, and has outscored its opponents by a
combined score of 74-7. Crimson junior Amanda Sobhy (Sea Cliff,
N.Y.) is the nation’s top player, while classmate Haley Mendez
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) was No. 10 and sophomore Michelle Gemmell (Toronto,
Ontario) was No. 17 at the close of 2012-13.
