The 25th-ranked Navy squash team (13-7) will face its first top-10 ranked opponent since early November when it meets #7 Drexel (3-2) Friday evening in Washington, D.C. Squash on Fire will serve as the host venue with the two programs set to play at 7:00 pm in a Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference match.

Navy's Projected Lineup
Player (Yr / Hometown / 2022-23 record / career record)
1 -  Matt Wang (So / Malvern, Pa. / 16-2 / 34-12)
2 -  Millen Randell (Sr / Chicago, Ill. / 13-5 / 40-33)
3 -  Henry Sparkman (Jr / Darien, Conn. / 14-4 / 29-14)
4 -  Lucas Spiro (So / Buffalo, N.Y. / 11-7 / 26-19)
5 -  Tommy Rankin (Sr / Atlanta, Ga. / 12-6 / 34-34)
6 -  Alexander Orr (Fr / Haverford, Pa. / 16-3 / 16-3)
7 -  Ben Balser (Sr / Brooklyn, N.Y. / 10-8 / 20-24)
8 -  Shankar Jambunathan (So / Aurora, Ill. / 6-14 / 6-14)
Inj -  Tighe Mullarkey (Fr / Locust Valley, N.Y. / 12-1 / 12-1)

Last Time Out
• Making its first appearance of the 2023 calendar year, Navy fell short in its three matches at home this weekend
• The Mids dropped a 6-3 decision to undefeated and 23rd-ranked Middlebury (5-0) on Friday, while  #18 Williams (4-4) cruised to an 8-1 victory against the Mids on Saturday. Navy capped the weekend with a 6-3 loss to #19 Amherst (4-2) on Sunday afternoon.
• Matt Wang, who improved to 16-2 on the year, showed he belonged at the top, as he was the lone Navy player to win all three matches over the weekend. He opened with a 3-1 victory (11-6, 14-12, 9-11, 11-3) over Middlebury's Nathan Feinstein and rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Williams' Udai Pal in five games (4-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3) and post the Mids' lone win against the Ephs. He closed out the weekend by sweeping Amherst's Kedar Nagaraj (11-1, 11-6, 11-8).
• Millen Randell, meanwhile, put together a 2-1 mark over the weekend to improve to 13-5. The veteran member of the lineup earned a stymied Middlebury's Will Lichstein (11-5, 11-8, 11-9) in the opener, but dropped a 3-1 decision (11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 11-2) to Williams' William Evans. Randell bounced back on Sunday to close out the weekend with a 3-0 win (11-9, 11-7, 11-5) over Adam Lichtmacher  of Amherst.
• With the pair of victories, Randell continues to inch towards the 50-win milestone for his career, as he now stands 40-33.
• Henry Sparkman and Alexander Orr both went 1-2 on the weekend. Sparkman played a hard-fought match against Middlebury's Caleb Boateng, beating his foe in four games (11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11), while Orr finished off the weekend with a 3-2 victory over Amherst's Grady Herbert (7-11, 12-10, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6).
• Orr came into the weekend with a team-best 15-1 record and rode an 11-match winning streak before Middlebury's PK Keller dealt the rookie a 3-1 loss on Friday evening.

More on Drexel
• Drexel enters Friday evening's match with a 3-2 record, securing wins over #29 Haverford (9-0), #13 Chatham (8-1) and #9 Columbia (9-0), while dropping matches to #2 Penn (7-2) and #4 Yale (7-2).
• This will be the Dragons' first match since their Dec. 4 loss to Yale.
• #1 on the ladder, Matias Knudsen (Gr / Bogota, Colombia) is also atop the wins leader board for Drexel with a flawless 5-0 record. Knudsen is a three-time All-American, earning first-team recognition in 2019 and '20 and first-team laurels in 2022. Meanwhile 4 player Nico Serna (So / Bogota, Colombia) and #6 player Yuri Pelbart (Fr / Sao Paolo, Brazil) have both produced 4-1 marks. Serna is a transfer from Dickinson where he played primarily the #1 position for the Red Devils a year ago. Pelbart won a bronze medal at the 2021 Junior Pan Am Games as a member of Team Brazil.
• Drexel finished seventh in the Potter Cup division of the College Squash Assocation Team Championship a year ago.

• Drexel and Navy are meeting for the 16th time with the Dragons holding a 10-5 advantage in the series.
• Navy won the first 5 matches, while Drexel has won 10 in a row including a twice last year - 9-0 at Drexel, 9-0 at MASC Championship in Lancaster, Pa.
• Navy's last win in the series was at the CSA Team Championship on Feb. 16, 2014 when the Mids edged the Dragons 5-4.

What's Ahead
• Next week will be a busy one for the Midshipmen, as they will be in action three times, including a pair of matches played at Squash on Fire in Washington, D.C.
• Navy kicks off the week on Monday when it faces #24 Hobart (3-6) at Squash on Fire beginning at 3:00 pm.
• The Mids will make a midweek trip (Thursday) to Pennsylvania where they will battle #29 Haverford (3-3) at 6:00 pm.
• Navy closes the weekend back at Squash on Fire with a Sunday afternoon (4:00 pm) match against #20 St. Lawrence (2-3).
• Live scoring and streaming links will be available on the Navy Athletics website (Navysports.com).

### Go Navy ###