Feb. 14, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 13th-ranked Navy squash team (15-8) will face No. 12 Bowdoin (12-8) on Friday at 9:30 am in the opening round of the College Squash Association (CSA) Team Championship held this weekend at Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. The Mids are competing in the Hoehn Division which features Amherst Bates, Brown, Bowdoin, Cornell, Franklin & Marshall, Rochester and Williams, all vying for the No. 9-16 positions.

The Mids enter this weekend's team championship having won three in a row, including a 6-3 victory over long-time rival Franklin & Marshall last Saturday in Baltimore. On the year, Navy has produced a 15-8 record, reaching double-digit wins for the eight consecutive year, while also winning 15 or more in each of those eight seasons. Navy is 1-4 against the teams competing in the Hoehn Division, dropping 6-3 decisions to Williams, Rochester and Bowdoin, while being swept by Bates. The Mids' one win against this weekend's competition was their victory over F&M.

Navy won the top three matches in its earlier match against Bowdoin, but dropped the remaining six spots on the ladder, including three four-game matches and a five-game decision.

"The Nationals will be challenging for the Navy squash team," said eighth-year Navy head coach Craig Dawson. "To have success we will have to upset teams that have beaten us during the season. As a team we need to prove we are ready to have a peak performance, and the tournament is the time for us to excel."

Senior Tucker George (West Hartford, Conn.) was absent from the lineup for most of the last month, fighting off a foot injury. However, George, ranked 16th nationally, returned to the ladder last Saturday against F&M and pushed his winning streak to 11 in a row after defeating 70th-ranked Sadig Madraswala in five games. In addition to heading into the tournament with an undefeated 11-0 mark, he owns a 56-25 career record as Navy's No. 1 player. George did not participate in the Jan. 19 match against Bowdoin.

Twenty-ninth ranked sophomore Nils Mattsson (Spring House, Pa.) enters the weekend with a 15-5 record, including a 9-1 mark at the No. 2 position. Mattsson was forced to play the No. 1 spot in place of George where he turned in a 6-4 record. Mattsson, who produced a 2-1 record at last year's team championship, defeated Bowdoin's Palmer Higgins in three games in the earlier meeting.

Capping off an outstanding career is team captain Jeff Sawin (Haverford, Pa.) who owns a four-year mark of 82-28, including a 16-4 record this season as the Mids' No. 3 player. Sawin, who is 40th in the rankings, has won three in a row heading into the Bowdoin match. He defeated Bowdoin's Jacob Sack in four games at the No. 2 position earlier this season.

Dawson will also rely on the steady play of rookie Allan Lutz (McLean, Va.) who has turned in a 17-6 record, including a9-3 mark at the No. 3 spot. He will likely slide down to No. 4 with George returning to the lineup. Lutz, who is just outside of the top 100 players at 114, earned a 3-1 victory over Bowdoin's David Runk in Navy's loss in mid-January.

Navy leads the all-time series with Bowdoin, 27-9, though the Mids have had their hands full lately. The Polar Bears have won three of the last four matches against Navy, including a 5-4 victory over Navy at the 2006 CSA Team Championship. The Mids' last win against Bowdoin was an impressive 8-1 decision last season.