The elements were added in just the right amounts: a season of nonstop training, hard work and dedication. The right mindset. An upset or two.

This correct mix of ingredients was the recipe for this weekend's championship win for men's squash junior Peter Yik as he won the National Intercollegiate Squash and Racquet Association's Individual Tournament in Philadelphia.

Yik, seeded third in the event, defeated ninth-seeded Tim Wyant of Harvard in the finals, 15-4, 15-12, 15-2, to claim the top honors.

"That was the most focused squash I've ever seen Peter play," Princeton head coach Bob Callahan '75 said.

Highlander

After receiving a bye in the first round, Yik had to climb up the 64-person bracket through some stiff competition to get to Wyant.

Yik struggled with Franklin & Marshall's Vinay Asthan in his opening game of the second round, falling by the score of 15-7. Yik rebounded quickly, however, and won the next three games comfortably. He then blew by Trinity's Charlie Saunders, 15-6, 15-7, 15-5, to make it to the quarterfinals.

In that round, Yik played what would be his closest match of the tournament against Denison's Arif Paul. After dropping the first game, 17-14, Yik pulled through the next three with close wins of 15-13, 15-9 and 15-12.

This set up the Tiger for a match in the semifinals against Amherst's Damon McNeely, whom Yik defeated, 3-0, to advance to the championship match against Wyant, a player Yik had defeated twice earlier in the season.

Wyant was able to get as far as he did in the first place by pulling a major upset against the No. 1 seed from Trinity, Marcus Cowie. Cowie had won the tournament the last two years and was expected to win again. But the Crimson giant-killer had other thoughts on his mind.

Fist

Senior Amir Give'on had a hand in setting up the final showdown between Yik and Wyant. Give'on had made it to the semifinals the last two years, and that's just where he ended up again in his final time in the tournament.

Give'on also received a bye in the first round, and went on to trounce Chris Weiner of Yale, 3-1, and Amherst's Kevin Orfan, 3-0. The wins set up a quaterfinal match against Trinity's Akhil Behl, who had defeated Give'on, 3-1, a week earlier.

The 90-minute match flip-flopped between the two talented competitors. Give'on took the first game, 15-4, then Behl took the second. The Tiger rebounded in the third but had to throw the fourth game, as Give'on was by then dead tired. It all came down to the deciding fifth game, which the Tiger captain lost, 15-12.

The damage had been done to Behl, however. Give'on wore him down for an hour and a half.

"I did the work of someone else," Give'on said.

The fatigued Behl was defeated by Wyant in the semis, which set up the final against Yik.

Senior Alan Cantlin lost in the third round to Behl and would later go on to defeat freshman teammate Peter Kelly in the consolation tournament.

Yik had gone undefeated in the regular season after being injured off-and-on last year. Sunday's win gives the him the top ranking in the nation.