Jan. 14, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 8-4 Navy squash team returns to action Wednesday when it plays host to George Washington at the Halsey Field House International Squash Courts beginning at 5:00 pm. The 10th-ranked Mids have won all 15 previous matches against the Colonials, including last year's 9-0 sweep.

After a month-long break to focus on final exams, while also enjoying some time away for the holidays, the Midshipmen returned to action last Saturday against ninth-ranked Penn. Though Navy won two of the top three matches on the ladder, the Quakers took a 7-2 victory in Annapolis.

The top three positions on the ladder for head coach Craig Dawson have been impressive. Senior Tucker George (West Hartford, Conn.) owns an undefeated 9-0 record at the No. 1 position, while second-year standout Nils Mattsson (Spring House, Pa.) dropped his first match of the year on Saturday in a five-game marathon match. Mattsson is 9-1 on the year, including a 7-1 mark at the No. 2 spot. Meanwhile, team captain Jeff Sawin (Haverford, Pa.) owns an 8-1 record, including a 5-1 mark as Navy's No. 3 player. All said, the top three spots on the ladder own a combined 34-2 record.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Wendy Lawrence, George Washington travels to Annapolis ranked 20th behind a 6-4 record. The Colonials have wins over Georgetown (9-0), Columbia (6-3), Stanford (5-4), Vanderbilt (9-0), Washington (9-0) and Wesleyan (7-2). GW, however, has been out of action since its Dec. 2 trip to Wesleyan where it faced the host Cardinals, as well as Connecticut College (L, 6-3).

Following Wednesday's contest against the Colonials, the Midshipmen will spend the weekend in New Haven, Conn., where will take part in the Yale Round Robin. The Mids are on tap to face Bowdoin (5:00 pm) on Friday, MIT (10:00 am) and Bates (4:00 pm) on Saturday and Colby (9:00 am) on Sunday.