April 9, 2003: Sports
Tiger vs. Tiger in squash final
Sports Web Exclusives! P-nut Gallery column
Tiger
vs. Tiger in squash final
From left, national champion Yasser El-Halaby ’06, coach Bob Callahan ’77, and runner-up Will Evans ’03. (Beverly Schaefer)
When the last two players faced off in the men’s 2003 intercollegiate squash singles champion-ship March 2 at Trinity College, both were wearing Princeton’s orange and black. No one could have been happier than Tiger coach Bob Callahan ’77.
“It was the first time in four months that I was able to relax and just watch a squash match, knowing that no matter who won it was going to be for Princeton,” said Callahan, whose team won its third Ivy League title in four years. The Tigers finished second to Trinity in the national team finals for the second year in a row after a 6—3 loss in Jadwin Gym February 23.
The two Tigers paired in the singles final were freshman phenomenon Yasser El-Halaby and team captain Will Evans ’03, one of four seniors who finished their collegiate squash careers this season.
El-Halaby lived up to his favorable preseason billing by beating Evans 3—0, despite battling the flu the week before the tournament. He had not hit a ball since the prior weekend’s team championships. “That was a dark little secret we kept to ourselves,” Callahan said.
“If there is one person that I wouldn’t have minded losing to, it was Will Evans. Not only is he my captain, but he is also one of my best friends here,” said El-Halaby, who came to Princeton from Egypt in the fall. “Unfortunately we’re losing four seniors who were basically the momentum that drove this team.”
Together, Evans, David Yik ’03, Dan Rutherford ’03, and Eric Pearson ’03 finished with a record of 92—4 at Princeton. Evans defeated the defending national champion, Trinity’s Bernardo Samper, 3—2 in the semifinal to set up the championship versus El-Halaby.
Callahan knows that next year he faces the hurdle of trying to replace
his seniors, “but we just want to enjoy this year right now,”
he said. 
By A.D.
Sports Shorts
The women’s hockey team finished its most successful season in program history with a 4—2 loss to Dartmouth in the semifinals of the E.C.A.C. Champion-ships March 15. The Tigers (20—9—4) featured All-Ivy forward and U.S. Olympian Andrea Kilbourne ’03, All-E.C.A.C. defender Annamarie Holmes ’03, leading scorer Gretchen Anderson ’04, and All-Ivy goalie Megan Van Beusekom ’04. Kilbourne and Anderson were selected to play for the U.S. national team at the Women’s World Championships in Beijing this month.
Women’s swimming (9—0) posted its fifth consecutive unbeaten season en route to the team’s fourth straight Ivy League title. The Tigers defeated Harvard 799—633 in Princeton March 1.
There was no March Madness for men’s basketball (16—11, 10—4 Ivy). The team’s seven-year streak of post-season appearances ended when it failed to earn a bid to the N.I.T.
Women’s basketball‘s (9—19, 4—10 Ivy) Becky Brown ’06 earned a spot on the 2003 Ivy League All-Rookie team, and Maureen Lane ’03 made the All-Ivy second team.
Cornell snatched the 2003 Indoor Heptagonals title from the five-time defending champion Princeton men’s indoor track and field team last month by staying two places ahead of the Tigers in the final race. Among the winners for Princeton were Jonathan Bell ’03 (3000m, 8:16.41) and the 4x800 team (Edmund Zysik ’03, David Dean ’03, Jonathan Kieliszak ’04, Josh Kauke ’04).
Wrestling’s Greg Parker ’03, a 2002 N.C.A.A. finalist at 174 pounds, won his second E.I.W.A. title March 7. Parker (23—4), who is wrestling at 184 pounds this year, earned a bid to the N.C.A.A. championships in Kansas City.
Women’s lacrosse (1—2) opened the season with a 15—6 win over Lafayette, but the defending national champions followed up with losses to Loyola, 9—8, and the University of Virginia, 13—8.
In Men’s lacrosse (1—2) Ryan Boyle ’04’s career-high
nine points led the Tigers to an 18—5 win over No. 12 Hofstra March
15. It was the first time that a Princeton player had at least nine points
in a game since Jesse Hubbard ’98 did it three times in 1996.
By A.D.
