Trinity College (CT) Wins Tenth Successive National Title

In an exhibition of skills, emotional focus and competitive peaking, Trinity College overwhelmed their principal rivals Princeton University to retain the CSA National Team Championship Presented by Bear Stearns, for a tenth successive season, with a match score of 8/1.

The sole winner for Princeton was an American player, Tommy McKay, who defeated Trinity freshman Randy Lim. Trinity's efforts were buoyed by a large contingent of Trinity fans from Hartford, Connecticut, who had traveled, some 1000-strong, 80 miles up to Boston, Massachusetts for the finals.

In winning the championships for the tenth time, Trinity also kept alive a 182-match winning streak, which in addition to being the longest ever in college squash, is also a national record for successive wins in any college sport in the USA. Trinity's team success over multiple seasons was profiled in a three-page "Sports Illustrated" feature two weeks ago.

"Streaks will end," said Trinity coach Paul Assaiante. "And we highly respect the Princeton Tigers and will feel honored if they are the ones who eventually do end our streak. That being said, ten is a sweet number!" The Trinity "Bantams" sported special "X-Times Champions" caps at the conclusion of the event.

Princeton coach, Bob Callahan, whose squad has come the closest to toppling Trinity over the past few campaigns, paid tribute to the Trinity effort this year.

"We've been frustrated by Trinity before," said Callahan, "But I feel that this may well have been Trinity's finest effort. Their level of focus and overall effort and performance throughout the match may be the best I've ever seen from them."

The finals ended this largest-ever college tournament, which involved 51 teams and required four large squash facilities across Boston to stage. Total attendance at the three day event exceeded 6500.

CSA National Team Championships Presented by Bear Stearns, 2008
At Harvard University, Allston, MA.

FINALS:

Trinity 8, Princeton 1
1 Baset Chaudry (T) def Mauricio Sanchez (P) 9-4 9-1 9-0
2 Gustav Detter (T) def Kim Lee Wong (P) 9-7 9-4 9-2
3 Manek Mathur (T) def David Letourneau (P) 9-4 9-1 9-10 9-6
4 Andres Vargas (T) def David Canner (P) 9-2 9-4 2-9 9-5
5 Parth Sherma (T) def Hesham El Halaby (P) 9-5 9-1 9-5
6 Supreet Singh (T) def Satiago Imberton (P) 9-4 9-7 2-9 9-4
7 Tom McKay (P) def Randy Lim (T) 5-9 9-1 9-5 9-6
8 Simba Muhwati (T) def Peter Sopher (P) 9-4 9-4 9-6
9 Rushabh Vora (T) def Philip Sopher (P) 9-2 9-3 9-2

Final Order of Finish:
1. Trinity College
2. Princeton University
3. Yale University
4. Harvard University
5. University of Pennsylvania
6. University of Western Ontario
7. Williams College
8. Dartmouth College
9. Bates College
10. University of Rochester
11. Cornell University
12. US Naval Academy
13. Bowdoin College
14. Brown University
15. Amherst College
16. Franklin and Marshall
17. St Lawrence University
18. Tufts University
19. Hamilton College
20. Northeastern University
21. Stanford University
22. Wesleyan University
23. Denison
24. Middlebury College
25. Colby College
26. George Washington University
27. Conn College
28. Hobart
29. University of Southern California
30. Northwestern University
31. Columbia University
32. Vassar
33. University of Virginia
34. Colgate University
35. Drexel
36. Vanderbilt
37. Haverford
38. University of Washington
39. Fordham
40. Penn State University
41. Georgetown
42. California (Berkeley)
43. MIT
44. Boston College
45. Kenyon
46. University of Vermont
47. University of North Carolina
48. Tulane
49. Bryant University
50. Notre Dame
51. Bard