Five conference tournaments commence this weekend while the Men’s Ivy League title still hangs in the balance. The Men’s and Women’s Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (MASC) Championships and the Men’s New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship start this evening, and both Liberty League Championships kick off Saturday morning.
- Liberty League Championships – Four women’s teams and five men’s teams will compete in round robin competition on Saturday and Sunday for the Liberty League Championships predominantly held at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Defending champions William Smith College (women) and University of Rochester (men) will face stiff competition throughout the weekend, particularly against upstart St. Lawrence University squads.
- MASC Championships – Lancaster, Penn. is the host location for the MASC Championships, where five women’s teams and six men’s teams will vie for the title. Host institution Franklin & Marshall College will be eager to defend their home courts, but tournament favorites Drexel University and University of Virginia will likely be in the running for the hardware on Sunday.
- NESCAC Men’s Championship – NESCAC eyes will turn to Connecticut this weekend when the men’s tournament will take place at Trinity College and Wesleyan University. Host Trinity will be heavy favorites to repeat as champion, but fans should keep their eyes on the rest of the tournament as teams which are closely bunched in the national rankings compete for conference and national supremacy.
- Remaining Ivy Contests – Ivy League play comes to an end this weekend, the results of which will decide the men’s championship. No. 1-ranked Penn controls their own destiny and will capture the title if they can stave off No. 5 Princeton away and No. 7 Cornell at home. The winner of Sunday’s women’s match between No. 8 Cornell and No. 9 Penn will take a big step toward securing a position in the Ramsay Cup (A Division) draw at the National Collegiate Women’s Team Championships.
- Stanford Returns to Action – The Stanford women return for another swing through New England, taking on Dartmouth, Harvard, and Brown on consecutive days.
- Big Weekend for Club Teams
- Boston will also play host to a large meeting of club teams at the SquashBusters facility on Northeastern University’s campus. 11 men’s and women’s teams will come together for one of the biggest gatherings of the season before the National Collegiate Club Team Championships, which are scheduled for Feb. 19-20 at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
- Top-ranked club team Michigan hosts Notre Dame in Detroit for their only home match of the season. Bucknell’s talented club teams will visit regional foe Haverford.
- Men’s and Co-Ed club teams will compete from Philadelphia (Penn, Drexel, Swarthmore) to Baltimore (Navy, Johns Hopkins, Lafayette) in order to add vital match experience prior to the end of the season.
Order of Play
The order of play for this week, Thursday Feb. 3 through Wednesday Feb. 9, is:
- 3-court system: 2,1,3 / 5,6,4 / 9,8,7
- 5-court system: 1,2 / 3,4 / 6,5 / 8,7 / 10,9
Schedules
View the full college schedules here:
College Squash Women’s Schedule
College Squash Men’s Schedule
Live Scoring will be available for many matches during the weekend on Club Locker – Men and Women. Please make sure you check schools’ spectator policies and live streaming options if you plan to tune in to a specific match in the coming days.
Please also follow the CSA on Twitter (@CollegeSquash) and Instagram (@college_squash) for social media updates throughout the weekend.
