Cambridge, MA — “We are kicking off the season right with volunteer work,” announces MIT head coach Nadeem Mazen. The Engineers’ season will be underway soon after that. “[We] dive into November by organizing two tournaments: the November 16-18 MIT/Wellesley Invitational, and the November 30-December 2 Boston Round Robin.” Play in the Boston area has become increasingly competitive over the past few seasons, and the Engineers will need to be on their toes. “BC and Northeastern have been getting surprisingly good these last few years,” Mazen observes. “We’ll want more decisive victories there. We’ll also want to creep much closer to the glory days of competitiveness with Tufts and Wesleyan.” Seven new players will be joining MIT’s roster, and they can each expect to find training matches tailored to their level of play. “We’ve got a challenge for any level,” Mazen explains. “Volunteer assistant coaches range from former MIT #1’s and former Stanford #1’s to former Pakistani pros who can beat most any PSA player standing still.” MIT is also on the lookout for a new part-time assistant coach to help with administration and practice training.

2011-2012 SEASON RECAP

Season Record: 8-12

Final Ranking: 31

Team Championships: 7th in the Conroy Cup (D Division)

2012-2013 SEASON PREVIEW

Program Status: Varsity

Head Coach: Nadeem Mazen

Returning Players from Team Championships:  2. Steve Sung Won Cho;  4. Gray Riley; 5. David Bian; 6. Abhi Mitra; 7. Connor Kirschbaum; 8. Sunny Long; 9. Sarah Fay; 10. Viveka Mishra; 11. David Kang

Graduated/Non-Returning Players from 2011-2012 Team Championships: 1. West Hubbard; 3. Austin Anderson

Additions to the 2012-2013 Roster:

• Expected to play in the middle 3: Marina Crowe and Bowen Baker
• Expected to compete for spots in the bottom 3: Frances Rucker and Tatsiana “Tanya” Ivonchyk
• Other additions: Ala’a Siam, Jeremy Rubin, and Isaac Silberberg

Captains: Abhi Mitra and Gray Riley

Team Goals: To grow more fit, more confident, more cohesive, and more committed as a team; to increase competitiveness and improve in the rankings

Key Matches: BC, Northeastern, Tufts, and Wesleyan

To read other team previews, please visit the 2012-2013 College Squash Season Previews page.