19-22 February 2009:
Stanford Finishes Strong as Conroy Division Finalist
The Collegiate squash scene has changed dramatically over the past 5-7 years. No longer are there only 4 divisions and 32 teams and the number 7 player in the C Division barely able to return the serve. There are currently 58 teams competing at Nationals with titles at stake in the A ,B, C, D, E, F, G, and an emerging five man division! A number 7 match in the C Division this year consisted of an hour-and-a-half battle of full-court squash between Bowdoin and Tufts. The C division overall was characterized by strong squash, top-to-bottom, on talented ladders. By the time the squash was finished and the spectators filed out of the Jadwin courts at Princeton, it was 9:00 pm Sunday night. In the A division, the engrossing final between Trinity and Princeton made ESPN highlights,
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3927303 . Squash has boomed at the intercollegiate level.
We were excited for the weekend, as this was the first time all season we had our strongest, most complete, and healthy ten-man roster. After the inevitable airport delay due to flying to the East Coast during the winter, we took off for Newark in the early afternoon. Everyone on the plane held its breath as we landed among high winds, which were tipping us precariously from side to side. Derek “Sweet Pea” Rowley started the much-deserved applause after the precarious touch-down. We traveled to Princeton in high spirits, picking up energy from our enormous meal at Chili’s. Alas, there were neither milkshakes, nor dessert, but nevertheless the team was looking forward to the action.
We were not disappointed. The atmosphere at Jadwin gym was electric (and crowded) with hundreds of players, parents, fans, and squash enthusiasts gathered to watch one of the year’s best squash weekends. The Cardinal was paired against a relative unknown, Georgetown, in the first round. The teams had never met before, but Georgetown had enjoyed a significant improvement in ranking during the year, and was certain to be a formidable opponent. The courts were hot and the air still. By the time the previous matches ended on courts 4, 5, and 6, there was no time to hit warm-up balls and get used to the courts. Number three Ananth “Peachez” Sridhar was thrown in the fire. Because the other two courts were still in use, both teams watched his match against tricky Georgetown lefty Mike Elghanian-Krayem. Elghaninan-Krayem had all his shots working, including a devastating low reverse corner from the left back-corner. “Peachez” looked shaky and a bit jet-lagged, and the match was over before he ever had time to find his usual soft touch. The Cardinal was already down 1-0. Up next was consistent captain Pat, “Baby Face” Bugas, our number two. On the first point, Pat took a racquet to the mouth, and there was blood everywhere. The match was temporarily postponed, and we weren’t sure whether he’d be able to play. Pat’s mouth looked like a swollen orange; no more baby face. After two players had taken the court, things weren’t looking good!
Out on court six, number nine Spencer “Water Monster” King righted the ship in five games to snag Stanford’s first win of the day. Although he struggled with the conditions, especially in the first game, he managed to pull himself together to win a tight fifth game, 9-7. Matches went back and forth, with Sam “The Minister” Gould picking up a big victory at the number 1 spot, and senior Dave “Big Swiss” Israelachvilli dominating his opponent at number 8. Wyatt “Cold Feet” Hong and Teddy “Bear” Bowers fell at five and six, respectively, and after three hours, Stanford and Georgetown were knotted at three matches each. Number four Derek “Sweet Pea” Rowley headed on court, telling number seven Will “Bassoon” Lewis that one of them needed to pick up a victory. Lewis was able to pull out his match in three tight games against an acrobatic opponent, but Rowley found himself down two games in front of a raucous crowd. It was time for captain Bugas to suck it up and go back out for the potential decider. After a consultation with Dr. Hertz, all star vascular surgeon and Greg “Budget” Hertz’s dad, Pat stuck some glue in his mouth and proceeded to crush his opponent 3-0. Sweet Pea also came back to win 3-2 and put the overall score at 6-3 after four hours. It was a long first day, and the Stanford men were happy to eat a wonderful Italian dinner and go to bed early to prepare for the next day’s match.
Day two saw the Cardinal move down the road to the Lawrenceville School for a rematch with Hobart whom we lost to earlier in the season by a score of 6-3. Shredder bounced back from the previous day’s disappointment and blew his opponent away to set the tone. Wyatt “Cold Feet” Hong at number 5 played a brilliant 2 and 3/4 games and had several match balls in the third against the fastest player on the Hobart team, only to lose a heartbreaker in the 5th game. Teddy “Bear” Bowers fought gamely at 6 but ultimately went down. The tension was building. Big Swiss came through again with a huge victory but King Kong at 9 lost to a talented opponent. Gould at number one showed for the second day in a row that he is one of the elite players in the division, easily handling his opponent. Baby Face gutted out another match. Once again, it was late and close. After a low-energy Will “Kazoo” Lewis fell to his Hobart opponent, the match was knotted at 4-4, with only Sweet Pea still on court. After taking the lead two games to none, he seemed in control. But, in the third, he fell behind 8-1 and a fourth game seemed imminent. Twenty minutes of battling led to an 8-8 score. And, a few shots later he won the game 10-9, eliciting a huge roar from the crowd, and securing a 5-4 overall victory to send the Cardinal into the finals of the D’s. Once again, Stanford ate a huge dinner in celebration, and headed home to get some sleep.
Due to the huge number of teams competing, the final was scheduled for 5:30 on Sunday evening. With a 6:00 flight, this was not possible. After a couple of calls to old friends, Mark managed to move the final to NYC at the brand new 8 court multi-million dollar Street Squash Urban Education/Squash Center in Harlem. Both teams, parents, and fans formed a caravan to travel to NYC for a rematch with longtime rival Connecticut College. A month earlier, the first match resulted in a 6-3 Cardinal loss at New London, CT. This time, as in the previous three days, it came down to the wire. Greg “Budget” Hertz played a great match and won in five at number ten to the delight of his parents and the Stanford fans. Sam went down in three games to one of the best players in all of college squash. In the first round of matches, Big Swiss and Teddy Bear fell in close matches, while Pat and Derek picked up the team’s first wins. Will “Bassoon” Lewis won quickly in the second round, and Spencer “Hong Kong” King also bounced back from a first-game loss to win in four. The match, for the second time that weekend, was tied at 4. With only Ananth “Shredder” Sridhar and Will Moger, Conn College’s number three, left on court, everyone gathered to watch. Despite brilliant squash from Sridhar, the bounces all seemed to go to Moger. In the last two games, literally millimeters separated the two players, with Moger finally gaining the upper hand in a 9-6, 10-8, 10-9 victory. A tired Stanford team congratulated each other on a solid season, and a strong effort on the weekend. The weekend was a huge success with lots of laughs and memories. The Cardinal improved on its pre-tournament seeding and ended up ranked 26th out of the 58 teams. This year’s nationals was marked by great support from our fans, including parents, friends, and former assistant coach Zan Feild. And, with a very accomplished top six returning next year, this is a young team that will certainly move up in the rankings in the future.
