Providence, RI — The mission is clear for the 2015 – 2016 season: Brown wants to regain a spot in the top 16. The Bears last appeared in the Hoehn Cup (B Division) in 2013. According to head coach Stuart le Gassick, the Hoehn Cup “is a competitive group presently led by Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell, but we are in a position to make a challenge into this division.” With the graduation of only a single senior from last year’s Team Championships and with five first year players joining the squad, the Bears’ ladder will be deep this season. Last January, Brown traveled to the Cayman Islands for a training trip, which helped the Bears grow closer as a team. “Alas we are tied to the US this winter,” comments le Gassick. With the experience of the eight returners, last year’s win percentages for each third of the line-up should improve. Brown’s schedule is packed with teams that finished ahead of them in the rankings last season, but light on teams that finished behind them. This could make it challenging to evaluate the Bears if there is another season of parity amongst lower Hoehn Cup and higher Summers Cup teams. Look for Brown to be clawing their way to a Hoehn Cup position this season.
2014-2015 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 7-9
Final Ranking: 19
Team Championships: 3rd in the Summers Cup (C Division)
By the Numbers (From US Squash): 5-4 Matches Won: 1 of 2… Top 3 Win %: 0.3958… Middle 3 Win %: 0.4255… Lower 3 Win %: 0.4792
2015-2016 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: Stuart le Gassick
Returning Players from Team Championships: 1. John Blasberg (2016 – CSA Scholar Athlete); 2. Alexander Baldock (2017); 3. Thomas Blecher (2018); 4. Oliver Booth (2016 – CSA Scholar Athlete); 6. Foster Hoff (2016 – CSA Scholar Athlete); 7. Thomas Walker (2018); 8. Charles Blasberg (2018); 9. Alexander Demeulenaere (2017); 10. Michael Snower (2017); 11. Ross Freiman-Mendel (2016 – CSA Scholar Athlete)
Graduated/Non-Returning Players from 2014-2015 Team Championships: 5. Nicolas Talbott (2015);
Additions to the 2015-2016 Roster: Palak Goel (Mission San Jose High School – Fremont, CA), Ben Caraballo (Germantown Friends School – Philadelphia, PA), Philip Demeulenaere (Latin School of Chicago – Chicago, IL), Zander Chase (Pomfret School – Pomfret, CT), Anthony Chu (Groton School – Groton MA)
Captains: Oliver Booth and John Blasberg
Team Goals: To play in the Hoehn Cup
Key Matches: Bates, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Navy, and Williams
To read other team previews, please visit the 2015-2016 College Squash Season Previews page.
