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Jan. 24, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 10th-ranked Navy squash team will play its final home matches of the 2007-08 campaign on Saturday when it faces No. 4 Yale and 19th-ranked Hamilton College. The Mids open the competition at 10:00 am against the Bulldogs and closes out the day with a matinee match against Hamilton College.

With less than a month remaining in the regular season, the 11-6 Midshipmen have played a competitive schedule this season, including matches against four of the top nine teams and a fifth set for Saturday against Yale. Navy opened the year by winning seven of its first eight matches, but the Mids haven't found that missing link to push them over the hump in tight matches. One of its six losses was a 5-4 decision, while an additional three decided by a 6-3 count.

Last weekend Navy was without its No. 1 player Tucker George (West Hartford, Conn.), as well as freshman Brad Seidel (Toledo, Ohio), who were both sidelined with injuries. With two of its nine players out of the lineup, Navy head coach looked to seniors Brian Hamilton (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Matt Wiggins (Sour Lake, Texas) to fill the gaps. Hamilton, himself, missed the fall portion of the schedule due to a hand injury, but has turned in a 3-3 record since the start of the calendar year. Wiggins has been a success story, having never played a varsity match prior to this season. He owns an 8-2 record this year.

Sophomore Nils Mattsson (Spring House, Pa.) has stepped into the No. 1 slot for the Mids in George's absence. He, along with rookie Allan Lutz (McLean, Va.), lead Navy in wins this season with 13. Mattsson has suffered the hands of defeat just twice this season, once at the No. 1 position and once at the No. 2 slot. Lutz, meanwhile, has enjoyed a successful freshman season where he owns a 13-4 record, primarily playing the No. 3 and 4 spots. Team captain Jeff Sawin (Haverford, Pa.) has also provided great leadership for his Midshipmen teammates both on and off the court. He has turned in a 12-2 record this season, seeing time at No. 2 most recently.

Yale travels to Annapolis with just one loss this season, an 8-1 blemish suffered against No. 1-ranked Trinity on Wednesday in New Haven. Five of the Bulldogs' eight wins have been 9-0 decisions, while besides Trinity, ninth-ranked Penn is the only other team to challenge Yale, as the Quakers dropped a 5-4 decision.

Hamilton College is just under .500 with its 3-4 record. The Continentals have dropped two in a row, including a tough 5-4 loss against Denison last weekend at the Yale Round Robin. Their wins this season are against Hobart (9-0), Vassar (9-0) and Colgate (9-0).