SquashTalk > www.squashtalk.com/college >USA Mens Outlook 2001
SquashTalk Men's US Intercollegiate Outlook, 2001 (updated 12/31/2000 13:55)
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Site updated on 12/31/2000
Trinity gets stronger
Dec 2000, SquashTalk -- As Harvard,
Yale, and Princeton built their team depth to mount their challenges for
Ivy League Champions, Trinity added two hot freshmen - Pat Malloy, freshly
off of the 
US
World Junior teams, and Michael Ferrera, from England to replace their
graduating stars, Marcus Cowie and Preston Quick. Malloy, according to
coach Paul Assiaiante has been a particularly welcome addition. "Pat
works so hard at all times," said coach Assiainte, " that it
is a complete pleasure to have him on our team. He has surprised everyone
by moving immediately into the #5 position."
Harvard to
Challenge
Harvard, under second year coach Satinder Bajwa ("Baj"), has
moved to regain the services of assistant coach Mohammad Ayaz. Ayaz, a
soft-spoken and quiet teacher of the game, has seen it all in his formative
years in Pakistan. What Ayaz brings is a quiet ability to teach the attacking
game that gains the
| Trinity freshman Malloy - photo V Winchell |
respect of the players. Baj and Ayaz
are looking to the unexpected strength of their middle
lineup to challenge Trinity for the championship. "The Trinity -
Harvard matchup will be won in the middle of the lineup," said coach
Ayaz. "We have three or four
players who can beat each other any given day. Right now Pete Karlen is
playing at the top of his game -- we hope he can sustain it into the season.
Karlen's strong play has put pressure on the rest of the lineup to augment
their games."
Princeton Depth
Princeton hasn't stood still either. With David Yik and
| Junior Pete Karlen challenges for #1 at Harvard - photo V Winchell |
New Zealander Will Evans leading the lineup, Princeton has some formidable depth that coach Bob Callahan hopes will lead them past Harvard and Yale. Princeton's hidden weapon may be Canadian Dan Rutherford, who played most of last season with a nagging injury.
Yale and Williams
Yale always gives Princeton a particularly tough time and on the strength of their new world-best facility, are hoping to recruit the team that will take them back to the top. Their depth may be suspect, however. Williams is another team that is extremely well-coached by Dave Johnson, but may be unable to muster the depth necessary to fully challenge the top four teams. Last year in the championships, Princeton downed Yale 8-1 to take third position. They look to hold on to that at least.
Divisional Battles
With the top four teams currently unreachable by the other college nines, the great aspect of College squash is the year-end battle for the championship divisional bragging rights. The College championships are divided into, currently, five divisions of eight teams each. Last year, Dartmouth ended up 8th and last in the top (Potter) division (named after famous coach Art Potter). Brown ended up 9th and first in the second (Hoehn) division while Amhert ended up 17th and first in the third (Summers) division.
Some intriguing battles this year will have Amherst trying to move up to the second division, Dartmouth in a real battle to maintain a position in the elite division, and some other interesting positional struggles among these teams.
With the top recruits so strongly drawn to the programs at Trinity, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Dartmouth, this divisional system is a great aspect of the college scene, enabling the other teams to battle for meaningful end of the season positions in the championships.
