Complete Results

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead over No. 10 Princeton Sunday morning at the Halsey Field House International Squash Courts, the Navy squash team needed to win one of its final two matches of the day to clinch the victory. Sophomore Reed Whitney (Ladue, Mo.), playing the No. 7 spot on the ladder, rose to the challenge, taking a 13-11 win in the fifth game to lift the Midshipmen past the Tigers, 5-4.

Navy came into the match knowing the match history, but eager to meet the challenge. The Mids had not beaten Princeton since 1985, dropping 19 consecutive matches and winning only one game in the previous nine meetings combined.

"We put together a game plan and the team worked on it throughout the week," said 15th-year Navy head coach Craig Dawson, who was honored prior to the start of the match by Navy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk for earning his 300th collegiate victory a week ago. "The entire lineup contributed to this win and I felt like they accomplished even more than what I had asked of them. I'm really happy for the team and proud of the effort they gave today."

Utilizing three courts (1-3 on court 1, 4-6 on court 2 and 7-9 on court 3), the action was fast and furious throughout the day. Navy opened the match with a 3-0 victory by sophomore Randy Beck (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) over second-year player Ben Leizman of Princeton. Just as that match concluded, the Mids pushed their lead to 2-0 when senior Colin Barry (St. Louis, Mo.) earned his 60th collegiate win by way of a 3-0 victory over Princeton newcomer Komron Shayegan at No. 9. Barry is one of just 15 players during the Craig Dawson era and one of three on the current roster to win 60 or matches. Navy increased its lead to 3-0 following a sweep by senior Jim Kacergis (Malvern, Pa.) at the No. 3 spot over the Tigers' David Hoffman.

Princeton began its rally when freshman Jarryd Osborne dealt Navy rookie Jack Herold (Chicago, Ill.) his first loss of the season, while Navy sophomore Will Walker (Scarborough, N.Y.) surrendered just his second career match in a 3-0 loss to the Tigers' Abhimanyu Shah.

With a 3-2 advantage, Navy freshman Josh Hughes (Malvern, Pa.) was in the midst of a fantastic match with Princeton junior Michael LeBlanc. Hughes opened the match with a 13-11 victory, but in game two, he found himself down 10-6. He won five straight points to take an 11-10 lead and after trading points, Hughes eventually took a 2-0 lead with a 13-11 win in the second. The more experienced LeBlanc, however, would fight his way back to even the match with wins in the third (13-11) and fourth (11-7) games. The two were knotted up at 6-6 in the fifth when Hughes went on to take five of the next six points to earn an 11-7 win in the fifth to give Navy a 4-2 lead.

"Josh's win was huge at that stage of the game," said Dawson. "His win gave us the momentum we needed heading into the final couple of matches.

"He has been working so hard in the classroom recently, I knew he was exhausted. He is a very coachable young player and I gave him a few pointers going into the final game and he did a nice job of finishing it on his own."

Princeton once again trimmed Navy's lead to one at 4-3 when senior Taylor Tutrone scored a 3-1 victory over the Mids' Bill Kacergis (Malvern, Pa.).

The final two matches of the day were the No. 1 position between Navy team captain Andrew McGuinness (Merion Station, Pa.) and Princeton senior Samuel Kang and the No. 7 slot featuring Whitney against junior Sam Ezratty. Both matches saw the competitors trading wins and forcing a fifth game.

Whitney dropped his opening game, 11-8, but rallied to win the next two, 11-9 and 11-5, to take a 2-1 lead. Ezratty, however, extended the match by way of a 13-11 win in the fourth. The two exchanged points throughout the final game, neither able to get much of a lead, before Whitney broke open an 11-11 tie and scored the final two points to not only win his match, but score the match-winning victory for Navy. It was Navy's first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 9 Western Ontario, 5-4, in February of 2012.

McGuinness, meanwhile, won games two (11-2) and four (13-11), but fell in the fifth to Kang, 11-6.

The Midshipmen will enjoy a brief break in the action before playing its final two matches of the calendar year on the road beginning with a Dec. 3 match against No. 9 Penn and a Dec. 6 battle against No. 11 Dartmouth.


#16 Navy def. #10 Princeton 5-4
1 - Samuel Kang (P) def Andrew McGuinness (N), 11-6, 2-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6
2 - Jarryd Osborne (P) def. Jack Herold (N), 11-5, 11-8, 11-0
3 - Jim Kacergis (N) def. David Hoffman (P), 11-6, 11-8, 11-9
4 - Taylor Tutrone (P) def. Bill Kacergis (N), 11-8, 1-11, 11-1, 11-3
5 - Josh Hughes (N) def. Michael LeBlanc (P), 13-11, 13-11, 11-13, 7-11, 11-7
6 - Randy Beck (N) def. Ben Leizman (P), 12-10, 11-8, 11-5
7 - Reed Whitney (N) def. Sam Ezratty (P), 8-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-13, 13-11
8 - Abhimanyu Shah (P) def. Will Walker (N), 11-5, 11-6, 11-7
9 - Colin Barry (N) def. Komron Shayegan (P), 11-7, 11-3, 11-7

### Go Navy ###