The College Squash Association (CSA) announced on Monday that Isabel Bronson, a Vassar College senior, has been named the winner of the 2021 Ann Wetzel Award.
The Wetzel Award is presented annually to a senior woman who began playing squash in college and has progressed to a high level of skill, demonstrates sound understanding of the game, and exhibits good sportsmanship and a positive demeanor on the court.
The award is named for Ann Wetzel. The 1964 national champion, Wetzel founded the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s varsity team in 1970. During the more than 20 years she coached at the University of Pennsylvania, Wetzel taught hundreds of women the game of squash. Through her love of the sport and her passion for teaching, she gave many women the opportunity to experience the thrill of intercollegiate squash.
Bronson joined the Vassar College squash team as a freshman without any prior racquet sport experience, but her drive on the court and in the weight room has helped make her a key member of Vassar’s squads. She showed her greatest improvement in her third season of play – last year’s junior season – when she reached No. 5 on the ladder and finished the season with seven wins out of eight matches.
Despite her lack of playing experience, the example Bronson set led her to be named team captain twice. She was also recently named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team for the third year in a row.
Vassar Head Coach David Ames spoke about how important Bronson was to his team: “Isabel has been a huge asset to the team both on and off the court. She has been captain for 2 years and is very supportive and proactive with the other players and the coaches. Her improvement from her freshman year has been amazing, even battling through injuries in the last 2 years. She is always the first player to arrive at practice and is a pleasure to have on the team.”
Bronson is Vassar’s first recipient of the Ann Wetzel Award.
