Princeton, NJ — The 2011 Chaffee Award was presented to Hamilton College. The Chaffee Award, named for former Williams coach Clarence C. Chaffee, is given annually to a coach whose team has demonstrated the qualities of sportsmanship, teamwork, character, and improvement.
The Continentals were recognized for their spirit and sportsmanship by their peers. Each season coaches discuss with their teams which team they feel is deserving of this award. Coaches then vote on the award at the National Team Championships meeting, with each team getting one vote.
Hamilton finished the 2010-2011 season with a 13-10 record, ranked 18th in the nation. Most of their matches were won or lost by a wide margin; they swept seven of their opponents.
Hamilton’s closest match of the regular season was against Franklin & Marshall. The Continentals hosted the Diplomats at the Little Squash Center, and the visiting team came away with a 5-4 win.
The two teams met again in the Walker Cup (C Division) finals. Hamilton was riding a four-match winning streak, and it looked like they had a chance to win until the very end, when Franklin & Marshall pulled out another 5-4 win.
At the Walker Cup awards ceremony, the Hamilton players showed the same sportsmanship they had demonstrated all season long. Though the players were subdued at first, disappointed with the loss, they congratulated Franklin & Marshall and soon were laughing and taking pictures, celebrating their seniors’ final match.
The Continentals are coached by Jamie King, and Anne Edelstein was the captain. Edelstein finished her career with the most wins — 57 — of any Hamilton women’s squash player. Her fellow seniors, Danielle Forsyth and Leila Clifford-Ong, also helped set a high standard of play, effort, and sportsmanship.
This is the first time the Hamilton women have won the Chaffee Award. The Hamilton men won the Sloane Award, the men’s team sportsmanship award, in 2008 and 2010. When Hamilton won in 2008, King became the first individual to win the Sloane Award as a player and a coach, since he was a member of the Williams team that won the award in 1984.
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Click on the thumbnails to view a larger version of each photo. For additional photos from the award ceremony and the entire 2011 Howe Cup, please visit mtbello.com.
