The College Squash Association (CSA) has announced the finalists for the Betty Richey Award—the most prestigious annual individual honor bestowed to a women’s squash student-athlete by the CSA. The Richey Award is given annually to the women’s college squash player who best exemplifies the ideals of squash in her love of and devotion to the game, her strong sense of fairness, and her excellence of play and leadership.
Nominees for the award are submitted by the coaches of varsity women’s teams. The winner of the award is determined by a vote of both coaches and players—each varsity team may cast one coach vote and one team vote. The Richey Award honoree will be announced this weekend on the Sunday of the CSA Women’s Team National Championships, February 24, 2019.
Finalists are listed in alphabetical order:
Maddie O’Connor, Columbia University
Maddie O’Connor has been an invaluable member of the Columbia Women’s squash team for the past four years. She has consistently played at the #1 and #2 positions throughout her career while the team has been ranked in the top eight nationally. She has compiled a 32-22 record playing against the top women in college squash and was just named to the All-Ivy League Team this season. She has been on the brink of All-American status twice in her career, finishing as runner-up in Holleran (B) Division play at the CSA Individual Championships in each of the last two seasons.
Columbia Head Coach Jacques Swanepoel has this to say about his team captain: “Maddie’s enthusiastic and self-motivated attitude sets a great example for her teammates at practice every day. She has consistently been the hardest working member of our team. She is relentlessly positive, a tough competitor, and a great leader. Maddie volunteers at StreetSquash, is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and has earned Dean’s List honors. We have been lucky to have her as part of our team and her contributions have been incredibly important to developing our team culture and success.”
Reeham Sedky, University of Pennsylvania
Reeham Sedky, of the University of Pennsylvania, has had an incredible run of success over the course of her career. She has amassed a career record of 59-4 which included a perfect 20-0 season during her junior year, the Howe Cup (individual national championship) that season, and a 31-match winning streak. Rightfully so, her accolades match her record on the court. In her first three seasons, Sedky earned First Team All-America and First Team All-Ivy League each year, and she has been name the Women’s Ivy League Player of the Year two times (2017 and 2018).
Penn Director of Squash Jack Wyant comments on his star player: “Over the past four seasons, Reeham Sedky has continued to show why she is one of the best and most dedicated players in program history. A leader on the court, Sedky was named a team captain. She is also just as dedicated off of it, where carries a heavy engineering and computer science course load and has been an Academic All-Ivy League honoree.”
Sabrina Sobhy, Harvard University
Sabrina Sobhy began her college squash tenure after winning the 2014 U.S. Senior National Championship as a 17-year-old. She has played in the top position of the ladder at Harvard for most of her college career, she’s a two-time First Team All-America selection and was voted co-captain of the Harvard team for her senior year by her teammates. Before Sobhy’s senior season, she had only lost six individual matches during her college career. During the regular season in her senior year, she went undefeated at the No. 1 position, earning the Ivy League Player of the Year award.
The Harvard coaching staff has this to say about Sobhy: “Despite her competitive personality, Sabrina always prioritizes fair play and sportsmanship on and off the court. As a senior co-captain, she’s lead the Crimson team to an undefeated regular season. She’s been a valuable source of energy to the program since she arrived on campus. Her passion for the sport is obvious to anyone and she’s planning on taking her squash career to the next level by entering the professional tour after graduating this spring.”
