COLLEGE RECRUITS 08-09: THE TOP MENS TEAMS --- FIRST OF A SERIES

Top Two, Trinity and Princeton, Fortify their Lineups

At this moment the gods of college squash are scattered. Trinity's intercollegiate champ, Baset Chaudrhy, is home in Lahore, Pakistan. His Princeton counterpart Mauricio Sanchez is home too, in Mexico City. Their teammates, Gustav Detter and Kimlee Wong, are both wrapping up internships in New York City. Hesham El Halaby is doing the same in Princeton, while also practicing on his home courts. His coach, Bob Callahan, is nearby, heading up a tennis program. Paul Assaiante, the mastermind of 10 has spent much of the summer on the road and also ran a squash camp.

Soon the student athletes will be back on campus and both coaches will be back behind their desks organizing practices, trips, and a plan of attack for February 14, when their teams will meet. Because while men's college squash is about all 66 teams, for the last three years, the championship has been about two: Trinity and Princeton. It would take an upset for it to be any different this year.

Both teams return eight of their top nine. Princeton lost captain and No. 7 Tom McKay, while Trinity lost co-captain and No. 8, Simba Muhwati. Trinity will draw from their deep roster to fill the varsity vacancy, while Princeton's varsity squad will be competing with new recruits to maintain a spot in the starting lineup.

Joining the Tigers this season are Kelly Shannon of Canada, Jesus Pena of Mexico, and top U.S. juniors Chris Callis and Clay Blackiston. Shannon is the reigning U.S. Junior Open champ, having defeated the U.S.'s dominant No. 1 Todd Harrity in the semis. Shannon is good friends with Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Dave Letourneau, and will play No. 1 for Canada in the upcoming Junior World Championships. Pena is Mexico's No. 2 player and played for the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT. Callis has been a top US junior since he was 12, having had countless duals in recent years with Harrity for supremacy. Blackiston is currently the sixth ranked American junior. Callahan expects Shannon and Callis to contend for positions in the top or middle of the order, while Pena will probably fall a little lower and Blackiston will likely spend his freshman year outside the varsity lineup.

"We brought in four really nice players," Callahan said. "We will be a stronger team this year."

Assaiante does not doubt that.

"They (Princeton) should be favored," he said.

He added that Nationals are at Princeton, which can only help the Tiger squad.

Princeton will be captained by another of Callahan's genius recruiting classes: Sanchez, Wong and El Halaby. Trinity will be led by seniors Detter, Manek Mathur, Charlie Tashjian and Rushabh Vora. Princeton's captains have three finals losses to Trinity. Trinity's four captains are faced with the pressure of being perfect for one more year. And though the hype might lead one to remember differently, the closest Princeton has come to beating Trinity since Detter defeated Yasser El Halaby to save the streak in 2006, is a 6-3 loss during the regular season last January. It again remains to be seen if a monstrous desire to win and a strong recruiting class will be enough to overtake a deep, driven team which has proven the ability to pull off the big win.

OUTSIDE THE TOP TWO

The top spots are predicted to go to Trinity and Princeton, but are not theirs' yet. Other schools will be chasing, a couple fielding strengthened teams. Yale finished third last year and looks to at least maintain that position. The team lost No. 1 Max Samuel, Ho Ming Chiu, who played in the middle of the order, and captain Moshe Sarfaty, who usually played toward the bottom order. Joining the team are U.S. juniors Ryan Doud and Robbie Berner, who both took a year off after high school, and Irish U19 No. 1 John Roberts. Ethan Oetter will captain the squad.

"Trinity and Princeton are still stronger but we have closed the gap we hope," said Yale head coach Dave Talbott. "Anything less then third would be a disappointment nationally, but our goal for the men is Ivy Title."

Harvard finished fourth at Nationals last year. They had no losses to graduation and brought in three freshmen: William Ahmed from St. Paul's School, two-time Silver U.S. Junior National champ Adam Vartikar, and Andrew Fulham, whose brother John is a top player at Yale. Senior Verdi DiSesa, who switched between the No. 2 and 3 positions last season, will captain the team. The Crimson will again have a strong No. 1 in junior Colin West, who received first team All-American honors last season.

For the last two years Penn has finished ranked fifth, ending last season with a 5-4 win over Western Ontario at Nationals. Both Penn and Western Ontario suffered significant losses to graduation. The Mustangs will look to fill the gaps left by No. 1, Greg Hutner, and No. 4 Ryan Osbourne, while Penn also has a need at the top with the losses of No. 1, All-American Lee Rosen, and No. 2 Spencer Kurn.

Penn has a strong group of incoming freshmen, including former U.S. junior star Trevor McGuinness, who took two years off since graduating high school, and U.S. BU19 No. 3 Thomas Mattsson, who will represent the U.S. at the Junior World Championships. Completing the freshmen lineup will be Akhilesh Nyck of India.

"They (the recruits) will help us remain talented and competitive," said Craig Thorpe-Clark, Penn men's head coach. "They are good additions to the team."

OTHER TOP TEAMS

Williams and Dartmouth rounded out the top eight men's teams at the National Championships last February. Williams graduated No. 1 Jon Barry, No. 3 Tony Maruca and No. 6 Morgan Phillips. Americans Will Morris and Jared Zuckerman will join the Ephs in the fall. Senior Bucky Marshall was injured last year, but will be back to lead the team.

Dartmouth graduated just one senior, No. 3 Adam King. Coach John Power brought in some of the stronger American recruits, including Nick Sisodia, who also will compete at the junior World Championships, and New Jersey's Brian O'Toole. Phillips Exeter Academy's Luke Lee, originally from Korea, and Philadelphia's Stephen Wetherill will also be vying for varsity spots.

Dartmouth lost 5-4 to Williams in the 7/8 match at Nationals last year, a significant fact considering Williams very nearly did not compete in the Potter Division. It was a 5-4 win over Rochester in an unprecedented pre-qualification match on the morning Nationals began that secured them that place. Rochester finished 10th overall, ending the season with a 6-3 loss to Bates in the Hoehn Division.

Rochester head coach Martin Heath expects his three freshmen to add depth to the team, which has been regarded for their strong top four. Americans Matt Domenick and Adam Perkiomaki, both members of the Heath coached U.S. Junior Men's program, and Joe Chapman of the British Virgin Islands, will join the Yellowjackets in the fall. With their touted top four (which could always change) and increasingly strong supporting cast, the team will play a part in a match that will at the very least be one of the most interesting of the season, when Rochester hosts Trinity on February 6.

"It is a real honor for me to have them here," Heath said of Trinity making the trip to upstate New York. 

With the additions to a lineup that already includes two All Americans in Jim Bristow and Hameed Ahmed, Rochester is expected to move up- it's just not clear how far.

MORE TO COME

While there are a few seemingly safe bets in the men's game, though obviously anything can happen, the women's field has five teams that can each be considered legitimate title contenders. Check back soon for a preview of the top women's teams and profiles of additional men's and women's teams.

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