Aug. 27, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Senior Jeff Sawin (Haverford, Pa.), a three-year letterwinner for the Navy squash team, has been elected by his peers to serve as team captain for the 2007-08 season. Sawin had previously split his time between squash and golf, but will direct his attention to squash full-time this season as the team captain.

"I feel very honored to serve as the squash team captain this year," said Sawin. "I, like most of the guys on the team, have been playing this game for a long time and I feel privileged to end my college career on this high note.

"As captain, I have been given the privilege of serving my teammates," Sawin added. "The squash team is one of the smallest teams on the yard and the 10 of us have grown incredibly tight over the past couple of years. I would do anything for them and I'm going to work hard to make sure we are well prepared and have the best possible season we can have."

Sawin has been one of the premier squash players in the country over the last several years, playing among the top four on Navy's ladder in each of his first three seasons at the Academy. He owns a 66-24 career record, boasting a 73.3 winning percentage. Mike Brennan (74-34) and Scott Hackman (67-34) are the only two players to have won more matches than Sawin under Craig Dawson's direction.

As a freshman, he produced an 18-11 record, primarily as the Mids' No. 3 player, and finished the year ranked No. 71 nationally. In each of the last two seasons, he has won 20 or more matches, including last year when he turned in an impressive 28-4 record and earned a No. 34 ranking. He is one of only two players on the roster to put together back-to-back 20-win seasons, joining classmate Brian Hamilton (Lake Forest, Ill.).

Not only was Sawin's 28-4 record a sensational achievement, he also made an impressive run in the Molloy Division of the 2007 College Squash Association Individual Championship which features squash players ranked No. 33-64 in the country. Sawin swept Tyler Young of Dartmouth and JP Sardi of Middlebury to advance to the quarterfinal round of the championship. He moved into the semifinals after handing Edward Newhouse a 3-1 loss and then etched his way into the finals match by beating out second-seeded Rohit Gupta of Cornell. It was an all-Navy final, as Sawin faced teammate Nils Mattsson, a newcomer who was also a high school teammate of Sawin's at The Lawrenceville School. Sawin looked to have the match wrapped up with a 2-0 lead and an 8-5 advantage in the third when Mattsson turned the tables and edged his teammate, 3-2, to take the title.

Sawin's success in the classroom has also been impressive. Ranked in the top third of his class academically, Sawin is a comparative politics major who owns a 3.39 grade-point average. In military order of merit, he ranks among the top 10 percent of the class of 1,085. He has appeared on the Commandant's List five times, while earning mention on the Superintendent's and Dean's list once each.

"Jeff will be an outstanding captain," said eighth-year Navy head coach Craig Dawson. "With Jeff leading the team, this year's Navy squad has set some ambitious goals and it will be exciting to watch them work together to reach new heights."

With practice beginning in less than a month, Sawin has already thought out the goals he has set for himself and the team in his final season.

"Last season the squash team had its best finish in over five years by finishing 10th at the CSA Team Championship. The same eight teams have dominated the top bracket of team nationals for years. Our team has set the goal of making program history by displacing one of the Ivy League elite and breaking into the top eight in the rankings, something that has not been done in over a decade.

Added Sawin, "This year Navy is fortunate enough to play host to the CSA Individual Championship, the tournament from which All-Americans are selected and final season individual rankings are determined. Navy's top four had an extraordinary tournament finish last season and I hope we can improve even further this year on our home court."

### Go Navy ###