The College Squash Association (CSA) released the first set of team rankings of the new year as teams gradually returned to campus after a winter break. Three weeks of exciting action have kicked off 2020, and the road to the championships should be intense as it enters its final month.
Even with the limited schedule since the previous rankings were announced at the end of the fall semester, numerous upsets have occurred, causing some major repositioning in the latest poll.
The top four places remain the same for both the men and the women, with Harvard and Trinity leading the way with undefeated records. Most movement within the top 16 places was only up or down one place, but the Dartmouth men broke that trend, jumping two spots to No. 9 after taking down No. 10 George Washington on Sunday.
Positions four through eight for the women is as tight as ever. Every team in that group has at least one loss against another member of the grouping, and every match except one among those teams finished with a 5-4 score. The results of three remaining matches among that group of teams will help clarify the positioning by the end of the season.
The biggest positive movers were both in the women’s rankings, with Bowdoin and Hamilton both jumping into Walker (C) Division contention with 6- and 5-place moves to numbers 21 and 23, respectively.
Three of the fastest movers for the men are NESCAC foes who have seen a surge since the calendar turned over. Both Williams and Colby moved up three spots – to Number 17 and 20, respectively – and Bates recovered from an early season stumble to reach No. 21 with a 4-position jump.
Those falling the most in the latest rankings were men’s No. 25 St. Lawrence (10 spots) and No. 26 Tufts (4) and the women’s No. 26 Mount Holyoke (4).
No club teams were in action prior to the formation of these latest rankings, but that is expected to change with many students settling back in on campuses across the country this week.
To view the full set of rankings, please visit the College Squash Team Rankings page.