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March 21, 2001: Sports The family business: David Yik ’03 leads men’s squash Men's basketball dons Ivy crown Sports Web Exclusives! Matt Golden's From the Cheap Seats column The
family business
When David Yik ’03
suited up for the Princeton men’s squash team last year, head
coach Bob Callahan could only hope that the freshman would some
day follow in big brother Peter ’00’s footsteps. The elder
Yik was entering the final year of a remarkable collegiate squash
career that included two individual national championships. And
with younger brother David as his teammate last year, Peter Yik
closed out his career on a high note — leading the Tigers to
their first Ivy League title since 1982. After earning first-team
All-America and Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in his freshman
campaign, David is already nipping at his brother’s heels.
“Watching my brother compete and playing with him last year,
I was able to see how dominating he was over his career,” Yik
said. “He did experience a few short periods where he lost
when he shouldn’t have, but
he always performed at his best during crunch time. That is a legacy
I’d like to continue.” Now the number-one player
for the men’s squash team, David Yik is blazing his own trail.
He compiled a 9—1 record on the court this season and, along
with fellow sophomores Will Evans, Dan Rutherford, and Eric Pearson,
guided the Tigers to an 8—2 regular-season mark. Princeton
coasted through its first six contests this season, outscoring its
opponents in matches 53—1. That set up a pivotal duel with
Harvard on February 11, one that would eventually determine the
conference championship. After ending the Crimson’s 10-year,
championship reign over the Ivy League last year, Princeton had
visions of a repeat performance. Four hours into the showdown
with Harvard, each team had taken four matches. In the final match,
the score was deadlocked at 2—2, but the Tigers lost the deciding
game when Rutherford fell in extra points. The repeat was not meant
to be, but coach Callahan described the battle as “one of the
greatest sporting events I have ever seen.” Yik said of the defeat,
“The Harvard loss was a tough one to swallow. We anticipated
a close match, and unfortunately we came up short.” Though
the loss to Harvard kept the Tigers from winning the Ivy title,
Princeton turned its focus to the NISRA national team championship,
held February 23—25 in New Haven, Connecticut. After seeing
his team’s draw in the championship tournament, Yik said, “We
certainly won’t look past Williams (the Tigers’ quarter-final
opponent), but we’d love a rematch with Harvard.” Yik and his teammates
got their wish; the Tigers soundly defeated Williams, 8—1,
in the tournament’s quarterfinals, setting up the hotly anticipated
rematch. Unfortunately for Princeton, the Crimson emerged with a
6—3 win and a berth in the national championship match. Princeton
then dropped the consolation match to Yale 5—4 for a disappointing
fourth-place finish. After the team championships,
Yik turned his attention to the individual national championship,
held March 2—4 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The 2001 championship
format was altered from previous years. Instead of one field of
64 competitors, the field was divided into “A” and “B”
brackets, each of which included 32 competitors. Before the tournament
Yik said he would rely on quickness and speed to put his opponents
on the defensive, adding, “The competition will be very strong,
but I don’t see any reason why I can’t win it. I just
have to make sure I stay aggressive. I can’t sit back and allow
the opponent to control things. I can’t get into a retrieving
mode. I need to control the match.” Yik, seeded fourth at
the nationals, followed his brother’s footprints right to the
pinnacle of collegiate squash, a 3—1 victory against Trinity’s
Nicholas Kyme gave the younger Yik his first individual national
championship. ¹ By Mark Gola Men's basketball dons Ivy crown Surpassing all expectations,
the Princeton men’s basketball team captured the Ivy League
championship with a 68-52 drubbing of the Penn Quakers at Jadwin
Gymnasium on March 6. The game was the last in an unlikely Ivy campaign
that saw the Tigers lose their head coach and top two players (before
the season’s first practice) but emerge from the league pack
to claim the title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Two men — a rookie
and a veteran — were instrumental in the Tigers’ championship
run. First-year head coach John Thompson ’88 refused, throughout
the season, to lower his lofty expectations for Princeton basketball
or to concern himself with the team’s preseason upheaval. And
after three years as a role player, team captain Nate Walton came
to the fore during his senior season. Despite the center’s
relatively unimposing stature, Walton provided the Tigers with an
extremely imposing post presence when it mattered most. In the clinching
game against the Quakers, Walton recorded nine points, eight rebounds,
seven assists, and six steals and controlled the low post. True to Thompson’s
season-long mantra, “This was Nate’s team.” By M.G.
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