Amherst, MA — After finishing the past two seasons ranked in the low 20s, Amherst is ready to join the top 20. According to assistant coach Graham Gal, “We have finished at about the same level each of the past two years. This year the team needs to move up in the Summers Division.” The Jeffs lost three players to graduation, but they are expecting the addition of five freshmen to fill the voids. Amherst would also like to end Williams’ sixteen year run as the Little Three Champions. Leading Amherst is #1 Noah Browne. He helped Amherst’s top 3 win 50% of their matches last season. If Amherst intends to move up in the rankings, they will need more wins from the middle and lower thirds of their ladder. Although the team captured two 5-4 matches last year, they lost three matches 4-5 in the final month of the season. If Amherst performs well in 5-4 matches and increases the win percentages of the lower two thirds of its ladder, the Jeffs could edge into the top 20.
2014-2015 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 7-12
Final Ranking: 23
Team Championships: 7th in the Summers Cup (C Division)
By the Numbers (From US Squash): 5-4 Matches Won: 2 of 5… Top 3 Win %: 0.5088… Middle 3 Win %: 0.3158… Lower 3 Win %: 0.4211
2015-2016 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: Peter Robson
Returning Players from Team Championships: 1. Noah Browne (2016 – First Team All-NESCAC); 3. Cameron Bahadori (2018 – NESCAC All-Sportsmanship); 4. Michael Groot (2016 – NESCAC All-Academic); 5. Darian Eshani (2017 – NESCAC All-Academic); 7. Jeremy Van (2017); 9. Stephen Cacouris (2016); 10. Thornton Ellis (2016 – NESCAC All-Academic); 11. James Line (2016)
Graduated/Non-Returning Players from 2014-2015 Team Championships: 2. Scott Desantis (2015 – CSA Scholar Athlete, NESCAC All-Academic); 6. Max Kardon (2015 – NESCAC All-Academic); 8. Alex Southmayd (2015 – NESCAC All-Academic)
Additions to the 2015-2016 Roster: Mohammad Harith Aslam Khawaja (Aitchinson College – Lahore, Pakistan),
David Merkel (Saint Ann’s School – Brooklyn, NY), Ian Petty (St Paul’s – Concord, NH), Robert Schwartz (Phillips Academy, MA), Lucas Sheiner (Yorke School – Toronto, Canada)
Captains: Noah Browne and Thornton Ellis
Team Goals: Top move into the top 20
Key Matches: Bowdoin, Williams, Navy, Brown, Colby, and Wesleyan
To read other team previews, please visit the 2015-2016 College Squash Season Previews page.
