HomeArticlesHarvard: 2010 - 2011 Men's College Squash Season Preview

Harvard: 2010 – 2011 Men’s College Squash Season Preview

Cambridge, MA — With the graduation of  Pool Trophy and Skillman Award winner Colin West, the Harvard men have a hole at the top of their ladder. However, returning players and a large class of first-year players look to step up and help the Crimson improve upon their fifth-place finish at last year’s Men’s National Team Championships.

Aside from West, former number 7 Frank Cohen, and Alex Lavoie, who played number 10, the Crimson will return most of their ladder. This year’s team will have three seniors: Eliot Buchanan, who finished last season playing number 6; Reed Endresen, last year’s number 4, who will captain the team; and 2009-2010 All-American and All-Ivy selection Richard Hill, who played number 2.

The Crimson will also be adding seven first-year players to the roster. They are Marc Atiyeh, the seven-time Lebanese squash champion; James Brooks, who captained Gilman’s squash team, which finished fourth in the nation last year; Nigel Koh, who has represented Singapore in several tournaments; Peter Machtiger, who has junior experience; Brandon McLaughlin, who was the 2009-2010 US BU19 champion and was ranked number 1 BU19 all last season; Thomas Mullaney, who finished eighth in the U.S. Junior BU19 National Championships in 2010; and Gary Power, a two-time Ireland national U19 squash champion. With a strong first-year class, the 2010-2011 roster should be deeper and more competitive than last year’s team.

There will be another notable addition to the Harvard program: new head coach Mike Way.  Way has coached a number of professionals on the PSA and WISPA tours, including former world champions Jonathon Power of Canada and Sarah Fitz-Gerald of Australia. He becomes Harvard’s first Gregory Lee ’87 and Russell Ball ’88 Endowed Coach for Squash.

After slipping in the rankings for the past few years, the Crimson may be in position to start climbing up.

2009-2010 SEASON RECAP

Season Record: 8-5
Final Ranking: 5
Team Championships/Conference: 5th Overall; 5th in Potter Cup (A Division); 3rd in the Ivy League

2010-2011 SEASON PREVIEW

Program Status: Varsity

Head Coach: Mike Way

Returning Players from Team Championships: Will Ahmed (8); Eliot Buchanan (6); Reed Endresen (4; 2010-11 Captain); Charles Gertler (11); Richard Hill (2; 2nd Team All-American; All-Ivy); Alex Ma (9); Jason Michas (5); Zeke Scherl (3);

Graduates on Last Season’s Team Championships Roster: Frank Cohen (7; 2009-2010 Captain); Alex Lavoie (10); Colin West (1; Skillman Award Winner; 1st Team All-American; Pool Trophy Winner; All-Ivy; Ivy League Player of the Year; 2009-2010 Captain)

Captain: Reed Endresen

Team Goals: Improve upon fifth-place finish at 2009-2010 Men’s National Team Championships and win the Ivy League title

Key Matches: Yale, Princeton, Penn, and Trinity

To read other team previews, please visit the 2010 – 2011 College Squash Preview Page.

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