Brunswick, ME — It seems that Bowdoin’s 2008-2009 season was something of an aberration. For ten seasons, the Polar Bears had finished the year ranked in the low-to-mid teens, somewhere in bottom half of the “B” Division. Then, in 2009, they dropped out of the Hoehn Cup into the “C” Division, winding up 18th.
Last season the Polar Bears corrected course and finished 14th, right where they’d been before. They came into the Men’s National Team Championships seeded 15th, and a key second-round win over Brown helped them move up a spot in the final rankings. Bowdoin had suffered a 4-5 loss to Brown in late January, making the 6-3 win during championships all the more significant.
Having made it back into the “B” Division, Bowdoin now faces the question of whether they can stay there. The team lost six senior to graduation, and all six players — Peter Cipriano, David Funk, Thai Ha-Ngoc, Palmer Higgins, Arun Makhija , and Rob Stanley — had been on the team for four years. The top two players on last year’s line-up, Higgins and Funk, earned All-NESCAC honors last season. The Polar Bears will be losing players throughout the ladder, as Cipriano and Makhija played 4 and 5, and Ha-Ngoc and Stanley played 9 and 10.
The team does have four players with squash experience joining the team. Stephan Danyluk of Williamstown, MA, and Miko Lim of the Philippines as well as the Hill School’s Reid Wilson and St. Paul’s Will Windmill will be added to the roster. The team has a number of sophomores coming along, and the two seniors on the squad, Andy Bernard and Rahul Madan-Mohan, will be captains.
2009-2010 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 13-11
Final Ranking: 14
Team Championships: 14th Overall; 6th in Hoehn Cup (B Division)
2010-2011 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: Tomas Fortson
Returning Players from Team Championships: Andy Bernard (3; 2010-11 Captain); Will Fantini (7); Andrew Hilboldt (8); Rahul Madan-Mohan (6; 2010-11 Captain); Barrett Takesian (11)
Graduates on Last Season’s Team Championships Roster: Peter Cipriano (4); David Funk (2; 1st Team All-NESCAC); Thai Ha-Ngoc (9); Palmer Higgins (1; 2nd Team All-NESCAC); Arun Makhija (5); Rob Stanley (10)
Additions to the 2010-2011 Roster: Stephan Danyluk, Reid Wilson, Will Windmill, Miko Lim
Captains: Andy Bernard, Rahul Madan-Mohan
Team Goals: Improve and enjoy
To read other team previews, please visit the 2010 – 2011 College Squash Preview Page.
