Trinity Squash Hosts Harvard on Saturday Trinity College

HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 3- The Trinity College men's squash team (10-0), ranked No. 1 in the nation, will host the undefeated and second-ranked Harvard University Crimson on Saturday at 2 p. m. in a rematch of last season's National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association (NISRA) championship.

The Bantam women's squash team (10-1), ranked fourth in the nation, will host the second-ranked Crimson on Saturday at 12 noon.

The Trinity men's team, coached by Paul Assaiante, has won all nine of its matches this season by a 9-0 score. Seventeen different players have won matches for the Bantams, combining for a record of 90-0. Senior co-captain Preston Quick (Lakewood, CO) leads Trinity with a 9-0 record and is the College's all-time leader in wins with a 58-4 career mark. Senior Marcus Cowie (Norfolk, England) is not far behind with a 50-6 career record. Quick is a two-time All-American and one half of the defending NISRA doubles championship team. Cowie is a three-time All-American and a two-time NISRA singles champion.

The Bantam men's roster boasts players from eight different countries who own 11 national squash titles among them. Junior Akhil Behl (Bombay, India) and sophomores Lefike Ragontse (Gaborang, Botswana) and Rohan Bhappu (Bombay, India) are also returning All-Americans for the Bantams. The four are a combined 55-5 in their careers at Trinity.

The Trinity women's team, coached by Wendy Bartlett, is led by 2000 Constable Tournament champion and returning All-American junior Janine Thompson (Port Elizabeth, South Africa), two-time All-American senior co-captain Gail Davie (Cheshire, England), and senior co-captain Randy DePree (Lake Forest, IL). Thompson, who is 8-2 after spending the fall semester in Australia, defeated the No. 1and No. 3 ranked players in the nation last weekend in the Constable Tournament at Princeton University. Davie has a 9-3 record this season and a 30-18 mark for her career, and DePree is the College's all-time leader in wins with a 53 -21 career record. Sophomore Mollie Anderson (Buffalo, NY) is a perfect 11-0 in dual matches this season, while freshmen Nicola Clark (Brighton, England) and Clare Austin (Banbury, England) are a combined 17-2 in duals in their first season.

Trinity defeated Harvard University, 8-1, in both the NISRA finals and during the 1998-99 regular season. The Bantams have won 26 consecutive matches dating back to Feb. 22, 1998 in the NISRA Team Championship finals, which Trinity lost, 5-4, against Harvard at Princeton University. The Bantams have also won 29 straight matches at home. Trinity's last home defeat was also to Harvard, by a score of 7-2 on Feb. 10, 1996.