Lewiston, ME — For the past decade, the Bates Bobcats have been a consistent presence in the top 15. They’ve even cracked the top ten twice, finishing tenth in 2004 and ninth in 2008. Coming into the 2010-2011 season, the Bobcats look to establish themselves as a solid top-ten contender.
Breaking into the top 10 should be within reach for the Bobcats, who finished last season ranked 12th. They came within a game of beating 10th-ranked Williams last January. Though the Ephs beat the Bobcats 7-2 when the two squads met at the Men’s National Team Championships in February, most of the matches went to at least four games. Bates was also in their 3-6 loss to seventh-ranked Dartmouth. Had two five-game matches gone the the Bobcats’ way, they could have found themselves in “A” Division territory.
Bates is only losing two seniors to graduation, but they are significant losses: captains Jordan Greenberg and Kush Mahan, the 2009-2010 NESCAC co-Player of the Year. Mahan and Greenberg played numbers 1 and 2 for Bates last season. However, senior Matt Marchisotto should fill a spot in the top three after not competing last season. First-year player Kristian Muldoon should also provide support in the middle of the ladder. The possibility of adding a sixth court this fall could be a boost to the team as well.
Leading the Bobcats will be senior co-captains Will Katz and Doug Compton. Katz, who captained the 2009-2010 squad along with Greenberg and Mahan, went undefeated at last season’s team championships, and Compton, a member of the 2010 NESCAC All-Academic team, has been a consistent contributor at the bottom of the Bobcats’ ladder.
As always, the Bobcats have been busy during the off season. Coach Pat Cosquer, NESCAC Coach of the Year and a 1997 Bates grad, reports that senior Patrick Williams directed the Lewiston Squash Camp, which was attended by a dozen Somali and Sudanese school-aged children at the Bates Squash center for 8 weeks this summer. The team has also been involved with Lewiston’s Somali and Sudanese students through the Aspirations Squash Enrichment Program, which provides academic tutoring, squash instruction, conflict resolution skills, and mentoring.
The Bobcats have plans for several trips during the academic year. They will hike Mt. Katahdin in the fall and attend the Tournament of Champions in New York in January. They will also head west over winter break for a training trip to Stanford.
2009-2010 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 19-8
Final Ranking: 12
Team Championships/Conference: 12th Overall; 4th in Hoehn Cup (B Division) (3rd in NESCAC Conference)
2010-2011 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: Pat Cosquer’97
Returning Players from Team Championships: Eric Bedell (9); Bobby Burns (4; 1st Team All-NESCAC); Nick Echeverria (5); Will Katz (3; 2nd Team All-NESCAC; 2009-2010 Captain); RJ Keating (8); Nick Kourides (10); Dae Ro Lee (6); Patrick Williams (7); Doug Compton (11), Matt Baker-White (12), Walter Cabot (13), Will Fearnley (14)
Graduates on Last Season’s Team Championships Roster: Jordan Greenberg (2; 2009-2010 Captain); Kush Mahan (1; 1st Team All-NESCAC; NESCAC co-Player of the Year; 2009-2010 Captain)
Additions to the 2010-2011 Roster:
- Expected to compete for the 1 through 3 ladder positions: Matt Marchisotto ’11
- Expected to compete for the 4 through 6 ladder positions: Kristian Muldoon’14
Captain(s): Will Katz and Doug Compton
Team Goals: Finish in the top 10 in the CSA rankings; finish in the top 2 in the NESCAC Conference
Key Matches: Dartmouth, Penn, Williams, F&M, Western Ontario
To read other team previews, please visit the 2010 – 2011 College Squash Preview Page.
