Men's squash put out a strong showing at the team championships this past weekend at Yale University. Seeded third in their division, the men pulled out a second place finish to earn a finish of eleventh overall at the tournament.
Competition began Friday against Hobart whom the men beat handily with a score of 8-1. This put them in the semifinal round Saturday against Brown.
The Bears had defeated the Big Green 6-3 last November. This time the story was different due to the strong performances from Jon Gabel '98 at number two, co-Captain John-Keith Wasson '96 at number three, Will Leicht '99 at five, Zach Segal '98 at six, and Bill Tarr '98 at eight. The final 5-4 victory was the men's first win over Brown in more than four years.
"There were a lot of good performances," Wasson said. Tarr moved to a record of 19-1 for the season. "He was as consistent as usual," Wasson added. "Jon Gabel played very well also."
The victory over Brown sent the men to the finals of the second division in competition for the Hoehn Cup. Formidable opposition from Franklin and Marshall put a 3-6 stop to the Big Green's progress but left them feeling satisfied nonetheless.
Wasson said he felt very happy, particularly with the team's unity.
"It was great to see everyone come together at the finish, especially in the win against Brown," he said. "It has been a good year in terms of progression. Now that we're done I'm very happy. We achieved our goals."
The loss to F&M Sunday put the men in second place for the Hoehn Cup, and 10th overall. Based on the Big Green's performances all season they have been ranked ninth in the nation. According to Wasson this finish is the best for the team since 1990.
Hammond, Gabel, Wasson and Russell Echlov '97, the men's top four players, travel to Trinity this weekend with the women for the individual championships. Wasson said that Hammond has a good shot at making second team All-American.
