Oct. 25, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- After suffering flu-like symptoms in last year's Barb Trophy that essentially eliminated him from contention, Allan Lutz (McLean, Va.) returned to the court for one last crack at winning the coveted Barb Trophy. Lutz managed to hold off a spry contender in the form of freshman Hunter Beck (Lafayette Hill, Pa.), to become the 36th different midshipman to win the trophy which was established in 1958 by the late Admiral Eugene Fluckey, a Medal of Honor recipient.
Lutz opened up the tournament on Monday by handling fellow senior and former student of the game Clint Brown (Yorktown, Va.), 11-6, 11-7, 11-2. Lutz, in fact, taught Brown how to play the game at Mercersburg Academy and Brown went on to walk onto the squash team at Navy. Lutz followed up by defeated senior Tommy McNamara (New York, N.Y.), 14-12, 11-7, 11-5 before cruising past second-year player John Richey (West Hartford, Conn.) in the semis, 11-6, 11-2, 11-4.
While both Lutz and Beck are similar in stature and even in demeanor, Lutz utilized not only his three years of varsity experience but also his maturity in having played in the Barb Tournament. Lutz opened with an 11-8 win in game one, but Beck jumped out to an early 9-3 advantage in the second game. Lutz made a strong push to cut his deficit to 9-7, but Beck was able to close out game two with an 11-7 victory. Following a brief break, the two came back to the court where Lutz had little problem in regrouping. The senior, who fell short in the championship match against All-American Nils Mattsson his sophomore year, took the match in four games by winning 11-6 and 11-4 in the third and fourth games, respectively.
"I was jacked up all day, really all week," said Lutz after the match. "After losing to Nils my sophomore year and being sick last year, I was able to redeem myself.
"I knew Hunter would be a tough opponent," added Lutz. "He has proven himself throughout the preseason. He played hard, I played hard and it just made for a great match."
Lutz heads into his senior campaign as the Mids' No. 1 player and has produced a 73-26 record over his three seasons at Navy. Having reached the 20-win plateau in each of his previous three years, Lutz has the opportunity to become not only just the second player under Craig Dawson's direction to win 90 matches, but he has the opportunity to become the winningest player under Dawson's watch. Mattsson stands atop the wins leader board, turning in a 92-32 record from 2006-2010.
Lutz will receive a ships clock at the Prizes and Awards ceremony during Commissioning Week and his name will be engraved on the Barb Trophy.
"If you look at all the players names on the trophy, it's just a great feeling. Since coming here four years ago, it's been one of my goals to win this tournament. In nice to be in the company of some of the great players who have played squash at the Naval Academy."
Beck, meanwhile, fought his way to the championship bout by knocking off three more experienced players. After opening up with a 14-12, 11-8, 11-5 win over senior Aidan Crofton (Laverock, Pa.), Beck faced a pair of sophomores who played the entire 2009-10 season among the Mids' ladder. Hunter Bouchard (Greenville, Del.), who was one of two then-rookies to lead Navy in wins a year ago, pushed Beck to five games. Bouchard won two of the first three matches, 11-3, 5-11, 11-5, but Beck came back to edge Bouchard 11-8 and 11-8 to earn a spot in the semis. Beck then punched his ticket to the championship match by clipping Billy Abrams (Wilmington, Del.), 12-10, 11-4, 11-6.
"There was a lot of build up to the championship match and I was definitely excited," said Beck. "I think it finally all came together for me during the week of the Barb. I think he had a little bit of a mental advantage and there was a little sense of intimidation in the back of my head, but I just went out there and gave it everything I had. It was a good match all around."
The 3-4 match was one of the most anticipated matches of last Thursday's finals, however, it would not be played as Abrams was forced to default because of an injury, giving Richey the win. Richey scored a 3-0 sweep over freshman Emile Toscano (Chapel Hill, N.C.) in the opener, but engaged in an exciting five-gamer against senior captain Brad Seidel. After winning the first game, Seidel came back to take a 2-1 advantage. But Richey would not be denied as he knotted the match at two-all before taking an 11-1 game five victory. Richey was then bounced in the semis by Lutz in three games.
Abrams, meanwhile, swept his first two opponents, sophomore Jack Shinnick (Shrewsburg, N.J.) (11-7, 11-5, 11-2) and junior John Tracey (Owings Mills, Md.) (11-7, 11-9, 11-6) before Beck turned back Abrams who finished his rookie season with a 16-8 record.
Bouchard took down Seidel in the 5-6 match by way of a 3-0 decision (17-15, 11-7, 11-8). Bouchard opened the Barb with a 3-0 sweep over junior Teddy Helfrich before bowing out in five to Beck. He bounced back, however, and managed a 3-2 victory over Tracey to play his way into the 5-6 battle.
Seidel made his way past Lincoln Barber in the opener, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5, but was saddled by Richey in five in the following match. After dropping his first match to McNamara, he went on to earn 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 wins to take the match and face Bouchard.
Though the 7-8 match ended in a 3-0 sweep by McNamara, it was one of the most competitive matches to watch. McNamara defeated Tracey in a hotly-contested matchup, 11-9, 11-9, 11-2. Both players saw action a year ago, but by year's end both were eliminated from the top nine of the ladder. Both are poised to have strong seasons, however, as they both are improved players.
Sophomore David Koenig (Cincinnati, Ohio) and senior Aidan Crofton squared off in the 9-10 match and the end of the ladder. Koenig posted a 19-8 record a year ago playing at the bottom half of the ladder, while Crofton saw action in just four matches. Though Koenig defeated Crofton for the No. 9 slot, it was a close battle with Koenig winning 13-11, 11-7, 11-7.
Junior Clayton Young (Chicago, Ill.) and Emile Toscano (Chapel Hill, N.C.) round out Navy's 12-man varsity roster, as Young rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the rookie 7-11, 12-14, 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 for the No. 11 spot.
"I thought this year's Barb Tournament was one of the most competitive we have had," said Craig Dawson, who is entering his 11th year as Navy's head coach. "Every position on the ladder was hotly contested and the finals were a classic, the experienced senior against the up-and-coming Plebe.. I think the team's overall play bodes well for our depth this year."
The week-long Barb Tournament pits the Navy squash players against one another in a round robin competition which then sets up an elimination tournament. The tournament results determine Navy's starting lineup to begin the season which is slated to officially begin the weekend of Nov. 5-6 when the Mids play host to the Navy Invitational. Navy battles Georgetown in its opener at a time yet to be announced on Nov. 5 and will face North Carolina (2:00 pm) and Virginia (5:30 pm) on Nov. 6.
Prior to kicking off the season, however, Navy will hold its annual Alumni Match this Saturday at 8:30 am where the Academy and the squash program will honor former head coach Dave Brown.
2010-11 Navy Squash Ladder 1 - Allan Lutz 2 - Hunter Beck 3 - John Richey 4 - Billy Abrams 5 - Hunter Bouchard 6 - Brad Seidel 7 - Tommy McNamara 8 - John Tracey 9 - David Koenig 10 - Aidan Crofton 11 - Clayton Young 12 - Emile Toscano
### Go Navy ###
