New York, NY — Columbia made big strides in its first season as a varsity program, winning the Barnaby Award as the most improved team. The Lions seek to carry that momentum into this season and finish inside the top 15.
The team will be playing a full Ivy League schedule for the first time, which means they will be taking on some of the top programs in the nation. While the Lions won’t be making the Princetons and Harvards lose any sleep — yet — they should be able to put pressure on programs that have been well established in the top 20.
According to head coach Jacques Swanepoel, all the matches with teams in the 10-20 range will be important for Columbia. With only two players from last season’s top nine moving on and four new players coming in, those matches should certainly be within reach for the Lions.
2010-2011 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 13-5 (Barnaby Award)
Final Ranking: 21
Team Championships: 5th in Summers Cup (C Division)
2011-2012 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: Jacques Swanepoel
Returning Players from Team Championships: (1) Tony Zou, (2) Graham Miao, (4) Andrew Tan, (5) Alec Goldberg, (6) Theo Buchsbaum, (7) Martin Goman, (9) Anchit Nayar, (10) Marvin So
Graduated/Non-returning players from 2010-2011 Team: (3) Clay Dahlman (Academic All-Ivy League), (8) Dan Gentile, (11) Zach Ali
Additions to the 2011-2012 roster:
- Expected to play in the top 3: Ramit Tandon
- Expected to play in the middle 3: Kyul Rhee and Daniel Saleem
- Expected to play in the bottom 3: Thomas Gallucio
Team Goals: To reach the top 15 in the national rankings and be the most improved team again this year
Key Matches: St. Lawrence, Bates, Brown, Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Bowdoin
To read other team previews, please visit the 2011-2012 College Squash Season Previews page.
