Middletown, CT — Wesleyan’s goal for the 2010-2011 season was to finish in the top 20, and the team did exactly that, moving up from 27th the year before to 20th. The Cardinals should continue to make things interesting as they have four new players who are expected to compete for spots in the top six.
The Cardinals have not been idle in the off-season. “Over the summer, players did a variety of things,” reports head coach Shona Kerr, the 2011 NESCAC Coach of the Year. “One went to China to work on his Chinese, another spent time in a retreat setting, a couple players had internships in New York City, two players worked alongside Julian Illingworth and Shahier Razik at Wesleyan Squash Camps, one player has trained as an EMT – this list goes on. It shows the breadth of character that this team brings both on and off court.”
Wesleyan will now have video capability for each court, and they hope to webcast some matches in addition to using footage as a training tool. They will also be headed to Arizona in January for a training trip. This is the fifth consecutive year the team has taken such a trip.
“This is a group of young men that are passionate about the sport of squash with a hunger to improve and compete to their highest potential,” Kerr says. “This group is young and can certainly move up in the rankings this season.”
2010-2011 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 14-12
Final Ranking: 20
Team Championships: 4th in Summers Cup (C Division)
2011-2012 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: Shona Kerr (NESCAC Coach of the Year)
Returning Players from Team Championships: (1) John Steele (First Team All-NESCAC, NESCAC Rookie of the year (4) Alexander Nuñez, (5) Jeffery Berman, (6) Zander Nassikas, (7) Ethan Moritz (NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team), (8) Luke Wherry, (9) Shivan Bhavnani, (10) Keitaro Sagawa
Graduated/Non-returning players from 2010-2011 Team: (2) Matthew Candal, (3) Dale Kobrin (CSA Scholar Athlete, NESCAC All-Academic Team); Nick Cavallo (12; abroad fall semester, will return in spring)
Additions to the 2011-2012 roster:
- Expected to compete for a spot in the top 3: Daniel Sneed
- Expected to compete for a spot in the top 6: Blair Corbin, Mike Delalio, and Cameron Rahbar
- Expected to play in the top 12: Blake Rosenbaum (returning from abroad)
Key Matches: Little 3 Championships (Amherst and Williams), NESCAC Championships
To read other team previews, please visit the 2011-2012 College Squash Season Previews page.
