Philadelphia, PA — After eleven seasons at the University of Pennsylvania, Craig Thorpe-Clark is stepping down as the men’s squash coach. Over this period, he guided the Quakers to a 95 – 75 record. This past season, he led Penn to the Hoehn Cup and a season-ending ranking of ninth.
In a statement released by PennAthletics.com, Thorpe-Clark states that “The past 11 years here at Penn have been a very rewarding experience for me both professionally and personally. The opportunity to work with some great young student-athletes is what attracted me to Penn initially, and I have worked with many outstanding young men.”
Thorpe-Clark’s most successful campaign came in 2006 – 2007. He lead the Quakers to a 10 – 4 record, which resulted in a national ranking of fifth. He also coached Gilly Lane, who won the Skillman Award that season. Under Thorpe-Clark, Lane was named to the All-American and All-Ivy League teams four times. Lane now plays squash professionally. During his time with Penn, Thorpe-Clark coached seven All-Americans and six All-Ivy selections.
Prior to coaching at Penn, Thorpe-Clark coached the men’s and women’s program at Vassar College for four seasons and at Eton College (Windsor, England) from 1986 – 1992. At Vassar, he lead the men to a 52 – 51 record and the women to a 35 – 58 record. He also has extensive coaching experience for U.S. Squash and was previously the head instructor for the association. He coached the World Championship team in 1994, led the U.S. Women’s team to a second-place finish at the 1995 Pan American Games, and he served as the women’s head coach for the 1996 Worlds in Malaysia.
Many squash coaches have benefited from Thorpe-Clark’s squash knowledge. He created the U.S. Squash Level 1 Coaching Manual and Course.
At the 2010 College Squash Association Individual Championships, several past Men’s Executive Committee Presidents, including Thorpe-Clark, were honored.
The University of Pennsylvania will begin searching for Thorpe-Clark’s replacement immediately.
