15-17 February 2008:
Stanford Becomes Top Club Team at Nationals
"Woo!"
That lone syllable was the rallying cry for an emotional weekend that saw a senior-laden Stanford squad move up in the national rankings and defend its title of best club team in the land.
The team's Valentine's Day departure for Boston began the trip on a bittersweet note. The eight players with girlfriends had been dating their respective ladies for more than a decade combined (plus another 5 months for sophomore Ananth Sridhar's imaginary Pi Phi love interest). Luckily, the several players had bought enormous cards during the West Coast Round Robin, and those gifts reportedly smoothed things over with the lovesick lassies.
The day was not a total loss, however, as Assistant Coach Xan Field scored a date with a sales rep hottie on the flight.
After landing, the team drove slowly and carefully to Blue Ginger, an Asian fusion restaurant in Wellesley owned by Talbott's
brother-in-law: celebrity chef Ming Tsai. Himself a squash player, Chef Tsai treated the boys to a lavish dinner to remember, including a giant shrimp roughly twice the size of sophomore Pat Bugas' fist.
The dinner also provided an opportunity to reconnect with V.S. Sridhar, who would come to play a crucial role in the team's successes later in the weekend.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the team's extravagant meal the night before, the 11 a.m. first-round match against second-seeded St.
Lawrence was a struggle. Still jet-lagged, several Cardinal players jumped out to early leads that they couldn't hold on to. In the end, Stanford lost 9-0, though that tally included three 5-game matches and two 4-gamers. Noteworthy players included #1 Sam Gould, who stole a game off St. Lawrence?s Dan McElvaine, and Ananth Sridhar, who was narrowly defeated by Thomas "Waffles" Whelan in five.
Being knocked out of the main draw was no surprise, but Denison's first-round loss to Northeastern was. Stanford was now set up for a day-two rematch with Denison, who they had narrowly defeated 5-4 in the fall. The Cardinal and the Big Red have historically traded the title of best club team in the country back and forth over the years, and Stanford was eager to retain the honor.
The team arrived at the Northeastern courts Saturday afternoon with parents and high school friends in tow. Paul"P-Diddy" Valiant '04, a Stanford squash legend in his own right, also showed up to wish the Cardinal well.
The first flight got off to a mixed start. #3 Patrick "The Face" Bugas quickly fell 3-0, while senior Jon "Hollywood" Dunlap scored a 3-1 win at the nine spot. David "Drumstone" Herbert had been the hinge at #5 when Stanford closed the door on Denison 5-4 in the fall. Now playing in the six spot, Herbert again faced Mike MacDonald. The wily co-term won the first game 9-0, then lost the second 9-7 before coming back to win the third 10-9. In the fourth game, Herbert began to slip again, and he fell behind 8-4. Facing the prospect of tough fifth game, the Cardinal veteran took heart from Mr. Sridhar's cheers, fighting back to 8-all before winning the game and match.
Up 2-1, the Cardinal were where they needed to be against a top-heavy Denison squad. In the second flight, #8 Sridhar scored a quick win in which he gave up just seven points, while senior co-captain Andrew "Sport" Burmon lost a 3-0 decision.
Stanford was up 3-2 in matches, but senior Ben "Ron Jeremy" Peterson was trailing 2-0 and struggling in the third game. But with a history of epic comebacks, no one was ready to count the "Stormin' Mormon" out.
#7 Bradley "Bran Penderson" Pearson won 3-0 on the adjacent court, putting Stanford up 4-2 and placing even more pressure on the Peterson to clinch the match. The Utah-native did not disappoint. He rallied to win the third 9-7, and then cruised with relative ease in the fourth and fifth games to win a tremendous 3-2 decision.
After a round of hugs and backslapping, #4 Andy "Tupac" Helppie-Schmieder put an exclamation point on the victory by winning and making Stanford the best club team in the nation with a 6-3 upset. The team then sped off to the hotel for showers before the annual squash banquet, where eight of the Cardinal's ten players were named scholar-athletes. With her cameras rolling, Mrs. Sridhar also made the case for a "Best Director" Oscar nomination for her excellent coverage of Ananth's embarrassed face.
The banquet, followed by a long night of speed Chess, took its toll on the team, and Stanford had trouble getting started in the early going. Still a bit groggy, the first flight got off to a slow start. #9 Dunlap fell in five games, while at the six spot, "Drumstone" Herbert could not get going and lost 3-1. Thankfully, Pat Bugas brought his usual blue-collar work ethic to the court and gutted out a huge five-game win to keep the Cardinal in contention.
In the second flight, #5 Benji Peterson scored a quick 3-0 win over Wesleyan?s Benji Messinger-Barnes. "Sport" Burmon lost to put Stanford down 3-2 overall, but Ananth "Woo!" Sridhar was cruising at the seven spot. Yet with match ball in hand, the young prodigy began slipping and eventually allowed a tie-breaker.
By now, Mr. Sridhar could barely contain himself, shouting at the Wesleyan referee for missed lets and double bounces. Up 9-8, Ananth lofted a tight rail into the corner that appeared to be the game winner. Sensing victory, Mr. Sridhar began cheering and waving his arms in excitement, only to be restrained by Herbert. Wesleyan miraculously retrieved the ball, and the point ended three shots later. Herbert then released Mr. Sridhar, who wildly gyrated in celebration, as expected.
The afternoon was far from over, however, as Sam Gould's 3-0 loss tied up score at 4-matches apiece. #7 Brad Penderson was in the most important match of his short career, but the "Prince of Palo Alto" was unfazed. After splitting the first two, Penderson played inspired squash in his third and toughest game, eventually winning 9-7. With all the momentum and a roaring crowd behind him, Bran cruised through game four to secure the win and seal the match for Stanford 5-4.
Players and coaches quickly mobbed the court to celebrate another vintage Cardinal win before linking arms for one last huddle.
Among the dripping sweat and profanity, the author realized that this veteran squad of ragamuffins and rapscallions would likely never stand together on the same court again. For some men, to end a college squash career without ever having held a division trophy would be a disappointment. But for our author, standing among scholars-athletes, gentlemen and friends, there was no steel ornament that could rival the pride he felt in being called one of their own. Looking around that final huddle, he knew this: there were better programs at Harvard that day, but there was no greater team.