NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 2 Yale Bulldogs beat the No. 4 Princeton Tigers 5-4 Saturday afternoon at the Jadwin Squash Courts in Princeton, N.J.
The Bulldogs (10-1, 4-0 Ivy) remained undefeated in conference play following their tightest match of the 2009-10 season. Princeton (6-2, 3-1 Ivy) dropped its first Ivy League match and suffered only its second overall.
Yale picked up wins in four games from freshman Hywel Robinson (No. 4) and sophomore Ryan Dowd (No. 9). The Bulldogs collected hard-fought five-game wins from senior Aaron Fuchs (No. 3), sophomore John Roberts (No. 5) and sophomore Robert Berner (No. 8). All three players trailed in their respective matches before winning their decisive fifth games.
Robinson's victory over David Canner at the No. 4 position sealed the match for Yale, who led 4-3 through seven completed matches. After splitting the first two games, Robinson won the next two, both by scores of 11-7.
The victory is significant for the Bulldogs, who are one step closer to capturing the Ivy League title. The Bulldogs will travel to Providence, R.I., to face No. 13 Brown on Feb. 6 before closing out the regular season at home with a pair of matches against No. 34 Columbia (Feb. 10) and No. 5 Harvard (Feb. 13). In all likelihood, Yale will enter the Harvard match in a position to clinch the Ivy League championship with a victory. Following today's Princeton loss, Harvard now stands opposite Yale as the only other undefeated Ivy squad.
Princeton University | Yale University | Winner's Score | Winner | |
1S | Harrity,Todd | Chan,Kenneth | 11-6,11-8,6-11,10-12,11-2 | Princeton University |
2S | Letourneau,David | Ruth,Todd | 12-10,11-8,11-8 | Princeton University |
3S | Callis,Christopher | Fuchs,Aaron | 9-11,10-12,11-4,11-8,11-9 | Yale University |
4S | Canner,David | Robinson,Hywel | 11-7,7-11,11-7,11-7 | Yale University |
5S | Shannon,Kelly | Roberts,John | 12-10,16-18,4-11,11-8,11-9 | Yale University |
6S | Imberton,Santiago | Dodd,Richard | 13-11,11-6,11-6 | Princeton University |
7S | Sopher,Peter | Lalwani,Naishadh | 11-6,11-4,11-8 | Princeton University |
8S | Pena,Jesus | Berner,Robert | 9-11,11-6,11-5,7-11,16-14 | Yale University |
9S | Blackiston,Clay | Dowd,Ryan | 7-11,11-9,11-7,11-7 | Yale University |
10S | Seth,Nikhil | Plimpton,Christopher | 11-6,11-6,11-6 | Yale University |
report filed by Alex Milvae '12, Yale Sports Publicity