Philadelphia, PA — Drexel’s men’s and women’s squash teams will go varsity next season, Drexel Athletics Director Dr. Eric Zillmer recently announced. Franklin & Marshall head coach and former world number 1 John White will lead the program.
Drexel is relatively new to the college squash scene. The Dragons first sent a team to the Men’s National Team Championships in 2007. They made their Women’s National Team Championships (Howe Cup) debut two years later.
White, on the other hand, is well known to many squash fans. He was a top player on the pro tour for years and has been at Franklin & Marshall since 2007.
F&M squash had a banner year in 2011: the women won the Walker Cup (“C” Division), finishing 17th; the men cracked the “A” Division and finished 8th; Gabriel de Melo was named a First Team All-American, the men’s program’s first since Vinay Asthana in 1999; and de Melo and Ryan Mullaney won the 2011 Ketcham Cup, the intercollegiate doubles title.
At Drexel, White will be coming into a program at a different level. The men finished this season ranked 46th in the nation, and the women were ranked 37th.
“I am very excited about my new position as head coach at Drexel University. I look forward to the challenge of building a competitive varsity squash team under the guidance of the Drexel athletics department,” White told Drexel University Athletics.
