St. Louis, MO — The Bears only lost one player to graduation, former captain Alexa Lichtenstein, who played number 1 last season and was instrumental in starting the women’s team. While the team will certainly feel Lichtenstein’s loss, they are also expecting a large influx of new players. Haoshu Xu will likely play in the top 3, Helen Head and Ellee Mullard should play in the middle three, and Rachel Chung, Sarah Harary, and Dilara Hatipoğlu are expected to play in the bottom three. With the five returners, those newcomers give Wash U enough players to enter a nine-player division. But there are even more players expected to join the program: Rachel Blake, Joanna Klitzke, Clara Lee, Jin Park, and Geige Silver. Though some of these players are new to squash, their interest in the sport should help the Wash U program grow in coming years. “We have a much bigger team this year with a lot of newcomers, so we’re trying to move up to the nine-player division this year,” says co-captain Marie Swarzenski. “Our goals are to keep growing the team, get some of the new players match experience, and have fun.”
2012-2013 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 4-1
Final Ranking: 40
Team Championships: 2nd in the Emerging Teams Division
2013-2014 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Emerging Club
Head Coach: Mike Puertas
Returning Players from Team Championships: 2. Paige Landau (2015); 3. Lindsey Callahan (2015); 4. Marie Swarzenski (2014); 5. Esther Koh (2016); 6. Nicole Williamson (2016)
Graduated/Non-Returning Players from 2012-2013 Team Championships: 1. Alexa Lichtenstein (2013)
Additions to the 2013-2014 Roster:
- Expected to play in the top 3: Haoshu Xu (2017 -Williston Northampton School)
- Expected to play in the middle 3: Helen Head (2015 – transfer); Ellee Mullard (2015)
- Expected to play in the bottom 3: Rachel Chung (2014 – returning from abroad); Sarah Harary (2014); Dilara Hatipoğlu (2015)
- Other additions: Rachel Blake (2014); Joanna Klitzke (2016); Clara Lee (2017 – Palo Alto High School); Jin Park (2017); Geige Silver (2017 – Ross School)
Captains: Marie Swarzenski and Sarah Harary
Team Goals: Enter a 9 player division at Nationals
Key Matches: Minnesota, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt
To read other team previews, please visit the 2013-2014 College Squash Season Previews page.