Swarthmore, PA — At first glance, the list of graduated and non-returning players looks like it spells trouble for Swarthmore. Six of the top seven players from last season will not be back in the fall, although number 7 Collin Smith will rejoin the team in the spring after a semester abroad. Even so, the Garnet has plans to contend for the Serues Cup despite finishing fourth in the F Division last season. Why the optimism? Seven new players will be joining the team, replenishing the ladder. “Swarthmore Squash is a club program built on hard work and dedication from each of its players,” explains co-captain James Hua. That hard work showed last season when the Garnet pulled off a 5-4 upset of Vanderbilt on the first day of the Men’s National Team Championships. Coming into the tournament, Vanderbilt had been seeded first in the F Division, and Swarthmore had been seeded last. Swarthmore will be traveling to Boston for round robin play in October, so the team should get a sense of its strengths and the areas they need to work on early. That knowledge and the successes last year may help Swarthmore continue to improve in their fifth season as a team.
2011-2012 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 7-9
Final Ranking: 44
Team Championships: 4th in the Serues Cup (F Division)
2012-2013 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Club
Returning Players from Team Championships: 3. Faraz Hayat; 8. Ben Mercado; 9. Jason Hua; 10. Harshil Sahai; 11. Prashant Arya
Graduated/Non-Returning Players from 2011-2012 Team Championships: 1. Tarit Rao-Chakravorti; 2. Joravar Dhaliwal; 4. James Bannon; 5. Manuk Garg; 6. Sudarshan Gopaladesikan; 7. Collin Smith (abroad fall semester)
Additions to the 2012-2013 Roster: Keane Ehsani, Arjun Raghuraman, Arjun Vishwanath, Jamie Ivey, Chun Hei Wong, Klarissa Khor, and HongIn Yun
Captains: Faraz Hayat and Jason Hua
Team Goals: To win the Serues Cup (F Division)
Key Matches: Haverford, Lehigh, and UVA
To read other team previews, please visit the 2012-2013 College Squash Season Previews page.
