After a one-month hiatus from competition, the 21st-ranked Navy squash team (8-3) will open the New Year with a three-day road swing through the Northeast. The Mids open competition on Friday in Vermont when they play #20 Middlebury (2-0) at 5:00 pm. Navy will then face #11 Williams (1-5) at Simon Squash Center in Massachusetts on Saturday at 12:00 pm before closing out the weekend with an 11:00 am match at #18 Amherst (2-3) on Sunday.

This Week's Schedule
Friday
5:00 pm - #21 Navy at #20 Middlebury // Bostwick Family Squash Center, Middlebury, Vt.
How to follow: Live scoring and video links available on Navy Athletics website (NavySports.com)

Saturday
12:00 pm - #21 Navy at #11 Williams // Simon Squash Center, Williamstown, Mass.
How to follow: Live scoring and video links available on Navy Athletics website (NavySports.com)

Sunday
11:00 am - #21 Navy at #18 Amherst // Davenport Squash Courts, Amherst, Mass.
How to follow: Live scoring and video links available on Navy Athletics website (NavySports.com)

Navy's Projected Lineup
Player (Yr / Hometown / 2023-24 record / career record)
1 |  Matt Wang (Jr / Malvern, Pa. / 6-4 / 45-29)
2 |  Henry Sparkman (Sr / Darien, Conn. / 5-5 / 41-27)
3 |  Lucas Spiro (Jr / Buffalo, N.Y. / 7-4 / 40-31)
4 |  Matt Kang (Fr / Malvern, Pa. / 7-4 / 7-4)
5 |  Alexander Orr (So / Haverford, Pa. / 8-2 / 31-13)
6 |  Tighe Mullarkey (Fr, So / Locust Valley, N.Y. / 7-3 / 19-4)
7 |  Sean Wu (Fr / Princeton, N.J. / 8-2 / 8-2)
8 |  Ramsay Killinger (Fr / Wyndmoor, Pa. / 9-2 / 9-2)
9 |  Holden Woodward (Fr / Richmond, Va. / 3-6 / 3-6)

Last Time Out
• The Mids were last in action the weekend of Dec. 1-3 when they split neutral site matches against #28 Wesleyan (W, 6-3) and #17 MIT (L, 5-4)
• Navy played the Wesleyan match short-handed (No. 1), but secured wins at the No. 2-7 positions on the ladder and once again featured a sensational freshman class that accounted for 4 of Navy's 6 wins on the evening
• Lucas Spiro became the third active player on Navy's roster to reach the 40-career wins milestone with his 3-1 triumph over Wesleyan senior Toby Goldston at #2 ... Spiro cruised to an 11-3 win in the opening game, but Goldston, who came into the match undefeated (3-0), pushed Spiro who would win game two 13-11 ... Goldston went on to take game three 11-8, before Spiro sealed the win in the fourth by another close decision, 14-12
• Alexander Orr also recorded a milestone win, his 30th in just over a year ... Orr swept Wesleyan junior Preston Crawford in 3 games (11-6, 13-11, 11-3) at #4
• Despite building an early 3-1 lead, the Mids fell a handful of points shy of upsetting #17 MIT (7-6), as the Engineers picked up a 5-4 win over Navy
• MIT struck first, but the Mids answered with three-consecutive wins by Alexander Orr (in 5), Sean Wu and Matt Wang
• MIT put together a string of three-consecutive wins (#2, #3, #4) to take a 4-3 lead over the Mids with 2 matches remaining
• Ramsay Killinger found himself in a 2-0 deficit before collecting an 11-7 win in the third game against MIT grad student Matt McManus at #8 ... McManus was in the midst of rallying and held a 10-4 advantage in the fourth game when he suffered an injury that prevented him from finishing the match and in turn gave the Mids the match-tying win
• The final match saw Tighe Mullarkey face senior Nikhil Kakarla at #6 ... Kakarla took game 1 by an 11-8 score, but Mullarkey knotted the match with a 14-12 win in game 2 ... Kakarla, however, went on to win the match with wins in games 3 (11-6) and 4 (11-7) to give the Engineers the team victory

About the Opponents
• Navy heads into the weekend with winning records against all three teams and long-running series against Williams and Amherst

Middlebury
• The Mids and Middlebury will meet for just the 14th time with Navy holding an 8-5 advantage
• The inaugural meeting between the two programs was held Dec. 3, 2011 with the Panthers taking a 5-4 win
• Navy has won 3 of the 4 matches played against Middlebury on the Panthers' home courts - W 8-1 on Nov. 30, 2012 / W 7-2 on Dec. 3, 2016 / W 5-4 on Nov. 30, 2018 / L 6-3 on Jan. 16, 2022
• Middlebury has won each of the last 3 meetings against Navy -  5-4 at the CSA Team Championship on Feb. 29, 2020 / 6-3 on Jan. 16, 2022 in Vermont / 6-3 on Jan. 6, 2023 in Annapolis
• The Panthers own a 2-0 record to date, picking up victories against Wesleyan (7-2) and Vassar (9-0).
• This will be Middlebury's first match since defeating Vassar at home on Nov. 19

Middlebury
• Saturday will mark the 61st meeting between Navy and Williams, as the Mids hold a 36-24 advantage
• The inaugural meeting between the two programs was held Dec. 13, 1952 with the Mids earning a 6-3 victory
• Saturday's match will be the 38th time the two teams have met in Williamstown with Navy holding a 24-13 advantage on the Ephs' home courts
• Navy has won 2 of the last 3 matches played at Williams - W5-4 on Jan. 15, 2016 / W 7-2 on Jan. 19, 2018 / L 7-2 on Jan. 16, 2020
• Williams scored an 8-1 victory over a short-handed Navy team a year ago in Annapolis
• Williams has put together a 1-5 record to date with its lone win a 9-0 rout over Hamilton. Its losses have come against top-10 programs Cornell (8-1), Princeton (9-0), Penn (7-2), Yale (9-0) and Columbia (8-1). The Ephs will play host to #19 Franklin & Marshall Friday evening prior to their match against the Mids on Saturday.
• Andrew Minnis (Jr / New York, N.Y.) stands 1-5 as Williams' #1 player, while Will Evans (Sr / New York, N.Y.) occupies the #2 slot and owns a 2-4 mark.

Amherst
• Navy and Amherst will meet for the 45th time with the Mids controlling the series with a 35-9 lead.
• The inaugural meeting between the two programs was held Dec. 15, 1950 with the Mids earning a 6-3 victory.
• Sunday's match will mark the 32nd time the two teams will have met on Amherst's home courts, as Navy holds a 30-1 lead in those matches.
• Navy has won 6 of the last 8 matches, including upsetting the Mammoths 5-4 in the semifinals of the 2022 Summers Cup Division of the College Squash Association Teach Championship
• Amherst stands 2-3 heading into the weekend with wins over Connecticut College (8-1) and Hamilton (8-1), while dropping matches to Cornell (9-0), Trinity (9-0) and Tufts (7-2).  The Mammoths will play host to Dickinson on Friday (4:30 pm) and Franklin & Marshall on Saturday (12:00 pm) before welcoming the Mids on Sunday.
• Amherst's #1 player Adam Lichtmacher (Sr / San Francisco, Calif.) owns a 3-1 record to date, while Kedar Nagaraj (Sr / Medina, Wash.), the team's #2 player owns a 1-4 record.

What's Ahead
• Navy will be back on the road next weekend with matches at St. Lawrence (Friday / 5:30 pm), vs. Brown (Saturday / 12:00 pm / at St. Lawrence) and at Hobart (Sunday, 12:00 pm)

### Go Navy ###