The 26th-ranked Navy squash team (14-10) is slated to play four matches this week, including its final three home appearances of the 2022-23 campaign. The Mids kick off the week on Wednesday when they travel to Lancaster, Pa. to battle #15 Franklin & Marshall (8-4) in a Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference contest. The match is set for 5:30 pm at the Mayser Squash Courts. Navy returns to Annapolis on Friday to kick off a three-day, three-team round robin. The Mids play host to #13 Western (0-3) on Friday at 4:00 pm, followed by a 3:00 pm match against #11 Chatham (5-3) on Saturday before closing out the weekend with a 1:00 pm conference match against #17 MIT (7-5) on Sunday.
This Week's Schedule
Wednesday
5:30 pm - #26 Navy at #17 Franklin & Marshall // Mayser Center Squash Courts, Lancaster, Pa.
How to follow: Live scoring and streaming links available on Navy Athletics website (NavySports.com)
Friday
4:00 pm - #26 Navy vs. #13 Western // Prager Family Squash Facility, Annapolis, Md.
How to follow: Live scoring and streaming links available on Navy Athletics website (NavySports.com)
Saturday
3:00 pm - #26 Navy vs. #11 Chatham // Prager Family Squash Facility, Annapolis, Md.
How to follow: Live scoring and streaming links available on Navy Athletics website (NavySports.com)
Sunday
1:00 pm - #26 Navy vs. #16 MIT // Prager Family Squash Facility, Annapolis, Md.
How to follow: Live scoring and streaming links available on Navy Athletics website (NavySports.com)
Navy's Projected Lineup
Player (Yr / Hometown / 2022-23 record / career record)
1 -
Matt Wang (So / Malvern, Pa. / 18-4 / 36-14)
2 -
Millen Randell (Sr / Chicago, Ill. / 14-8 / 41-36)
3 -
Henry Sparkman (Jr / Darien, Conn. / 17-5 / 32-15)
4 -
Lucas Spiro (So / Buffalo, N.Y. / 12-10 / 27-22)
5 -
Tommy Rankin (Sr / Atlanta, Ga. / 13-9 / 35-37)
6 -
Alexander Orr (Fr / Haverford, Pa. / 19-4 / 19-4)
7 -
Ben Balser (Sr / Brooklyn, N.Y. / 11-11 / 21-27)
8 -
Shankar Jambunathan (So / Aurora, Ill. / 6-18 / 6-18)
Inj -
Tighe Mullarkey (Fr / Locust Valley, N.Y. / 12-1 / 12-1)
Last Time Out
• Twentieth-ranked St. Lawrence (4-5) took advantage of two key five-game victories in the middle of the ladder to help propel itself past 26th-ranked Navy 7-2 last Saturday afternoon at Squash on Fire in Washington, D.C. The match marked just the eighth meeting in series history (tied, 4-4) and the first since 2013.
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Henry Sparkman (Jr / Darien, Conn.) was one of four Navy players to plan an extended match, as he earned a 3-1 victory over sophomore Alejandro Moncada to improve to 17-5 on the year. Sparkman jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Moncada, including a 14-12 win in the opening game, before Moncada took game three 11-6. Sparkman, however, responded with an 11-8 win in the fourth to secure the victory at #3.
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Alexander Orr (Fr / Haverford, Pa.) earned his team-best 19th win of the season after St. Lawrence rookie Patrick Walford retired following the second game at #6. Walford won the opening game 11-6, before Orr rallied to take game two 11-6.
• The 19 wins by Orr are the most by a Navy freshman since Jack Lentz won 22 matches during the 2017-18 campaign.
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Lucas Spiro (So / Buffalo, N.Y.) and
Tommy Rankin (Atlanta, Ga.) dropped five-game heartbreakers at #4 and #5, respectively. Despite Spiro jumping out to a 2-1 advantage, junior Vladimir Iglesias was able to regroup and win the final two games 11-8 and 11-9 to clinch the 3-2 victory. Meanwhile, St. Lawrence's Alexander Scott answered an 11-5 loss to Rankin in the opening game back winning back-to-back games 11-7 and 11-8. Rankin leveled the match with an 11-6 win in the fourth, but Scott bounced back with an 11-5 game five win.
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Matt Wang (So / Malvern, Pa.) opened his match against sophomore Lewis Anderson with an 11-9 win at #1, but Anderson, who is undefeated on the season, went on to win the next three (11-2, 11-5, 11-3) to take the match.
About the Opponents
Franklin & Marshall
• The Mids and the Diplomats will meet for 64th time in series history with Navy holding a 38-25 advantage.
• The inaugural meeting between the two programs was held Jan. 6, 1968 with Navy earning a 9-0 win.
• Outside of the COVID year, the two programs have met every year since 1999.
• Wednesday evening's match marks the 21st meeting in Lancaster with F&M holding a 13-7 lead.
• The two teams split their matches from a year ago with Navy claiming the regular-season meeting in Annapolis (5-4), while the Diplomats turned the tables and scored a 5-4 win over the Mids at the MASC Championship played at F&M.
• Franklin & Marshall stands 17th in the national rankings and owns an 8-4 record.
• The Diplomats have wins over Dickinson (9-0), Tufts (5-4), Colby (5-4), Bowdoin (6-3), Amherst (5-4), Middlebury (6-3), St. Lawrence (5-4) and Hobart (7-2)
• Kyle Broadhurst (Fr / Pittsburgh, Pa.), the team's #3 player, is atop the wins leader board with a 9-3 record, while #1 player Petr Nohel (So / Svate Pole, Czech Republic) stands 7-5.
Western
• Navy and Western will meet for 16th time with the Mustangs owning a 10-5 advantage in the series.
• The inaugural meeting between the two programs was held Feb. 7, 2009 with the Mids scoring a 7-2 victory on neutral ground.
• Navy won each of the first three matches, however the Saints have won three of the last four meetings.
• The two programs last met on Feb. 2, 2013 when St. Lawrence scored a 9-0 victory over the Mids on its home courts.
• Western, located in Ontario, Canada, has played just 3 matches to date, dropping contests to Cornell (8-1), Rochester (6-3) and Penn (9-0).
• The Mustangs, ranked #13, will play Hobart on Wednesday evening before arriving in Annapolis to get matches in against Navy, MIT and Chatham.
Chatham
• Navy and Chatham will meet for just the second time, as the two met at Chatham a year ago (Feb. 12) in the inaugural match. The Cougars won that match 9-0.
• Chatham stands #11 in the national rankings and enter the weekend with a 5-3 record.
• The Cougars have wins over Haverford (9-0), Franklin & Marshall (9-0), Denison (8-0), Rochester (5-4) and St. Lawrence (6-3).
• Chatham has been in action just once since the turn of the calendar year, as the Cougars dropped a 9-0 decision to #5 Virginia on Jan. 14.
• Leading the way in the wins column (5) are Haidar Jafry (Jr / Mountain View, Calif.) and Mohamed Sadek (Sr / Cairo, Egypt) who have played multiple positions on the ladder this year.
MIT
• The Mids and Engineers have met on 58 previous occasions with Navy holding a 55-3 advantage.
• The inaugural meeting between the two programs was played on Feb. 11, 1949 with the Mids earning a 9-0 victory in Annapolis.
• Navy won 55-consecutive matches before MIT earned its first win in the series (6-3) on Nov. 22, 2019.
• The two programs last met in a neutral site match on Dec. 3, 2021 with the Engineers capturing a 7-2 win.
• Ranked 16th, MIT has put together a 7-5 record and heads into the weekend having won two in a row.
• The Engineers have wins over Boston U. (8-1), Northeastern (8-0), Colby (7-2), Brown (9-0), Williams (6-3), Bates (5-4) and Bowdoin (8-1).
• #1 player Eli Kramer (Jr / Brooklyn, N.Y.) and #2 player Tom Hogan (So / Malvern, Pa.) lead the team with 8 wins apiece, while Bobby Albani (Fr / Newtown Square, Pa.)has a 7-5 mark that features wins at #4, 5 and 6.
What's Ahead
• Navy will travel to Charlottesville, Va. next week to compete at the Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference Championship.
• The three-day competition which will be played at the McArthur Squash Center kicks off next Friday, Feb. 3 and runs through Sunday.
• The six-team league features Dickinson, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, MIT, Navy and Virginia
### Go Navy ###