Nov. 20, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  The 14th-ranked Navy squash team will look to extend its six-match winning streak when it plays host to No. 8 Dartmouth Saturday at 11:00 am at the Halsey Field House International Squash Courts.  Navy owns a 12-1 record heading into the weekend after posting a 6-0 record in the tournament in which the Mids played host to last weekend.  Meanwhile, Saturday marks the season-opener for the Big Green.

Navy has started the 2009-10 campaign much like it did a year ago, finding much success by utilizing its depth.  Among the 13 matches the Mids have played, head coach Craig Dawson has called up 14 different players, while six of those 14 have played in at least 10 of the matches.  Dawson’s club features a solid mix of experience and youth and thus far, both have lived up to their billing.

Junior Tommy McNamara (New York, N.Y.), who is coming off a 24-7 season in what was his first year playing varsity, has seen action in every match and owns a 13-0 record.  He has had the opportunity to play anywhere from the No. 5 to the 9 position.  To date, he owns the best career winning percentage of any Navy player under Dawson’s direction.

Like McNamara, senior Justin Langan (St. Louis, Mo.) did not make his way onto the varsity squad until a year ago, but has been a welcomed addition.  Last winter Langan turned in a 24-9 record and is off to an 11-1 start in 2009-10.  Fellow seniors Nils Mattsson (Spring House, Pa.) and Ben Mantica (Binghamton, N.Y.), meanwhile, have also been strong leaders for the Mids.  Mattsson stands 6-1 as the Mids’ No. 1 player on the ladder, while Mantica owns a 10-1 record splitting his time at No. 2 and 3.

Rookies Hunter Bouchard (Greenville, Del.) and John Richey (West Hartford, Conn.) have lost just once in the 12 matches in which they’ve competed, while David Koenig (Cincinnati, Ohio) is 7-0 and Billy Abrams (Wilmington, Del.) is 7-1.  Dawson hopes it’s an early indication of what Navy has in store for its future years.

Navy won its first six matches before ninth-ranked Western Ontario handed the Mids an 8-1 setback at the Denison Tournament on Nov. 8.  But a week later, the Mids returned to form by rattling off six consecutive wins, all 9-0 decisions.

While Dartmouth has yet to play an official match, the Big Green did take part in the Ivy Scrimmage which was hosted by Yale on Nov. 12.  Dartmouth edged Harvard, 5-4, before Yale dispatched the Big Green, 9-0.  Dartmouth when on to place fourth in the scrimmage, as Cornell handed it a 7-2 loss.

Sophomore Nick Sisodia will anchor the Big Green squad as he enters the weekend ranked 28th in the College Squash Association rankings.  Meanwhile, junior Michael Lewis (68), senior Daniel Wagman (71), sophomore Brian O’Toole (76), senior Michael Shrubb (79), sophomore Luke Lee (87) and junior Ted Schroeder (89) are all ranked among the nation’s top 100 players.

While the Mids hold a 20-16 series advantage over Dartmouth, the Big Green have won 12 in a row against Navy.  The last time Navy defeated Dartmouth was Feb. 25, 1995 when the two programs met in what was then the NISRA Championship (now the College Squash Association Championship).  Navy, in fact, won the first 15 matches contested between the two teams and it wasn’t until 1989 that the Big Green first knocked off the Mids in an 8-1 decision in New Hampshire.

It was Dartmouth who, a year ago, doused Navy’s 13-match winning streak by handing the Mids a 9-0 loss in New Hampshire.  Seven of the nine players that defeated the Mids a year ago are on this year’s roster.

Admission is free to all home Navy squash matches and spectator seating is available throughout the facility.  

### Go Navy ###