HomeArticles2023 CSA Most Improved Teams

2023 CSA Most Improved Teams

Earlier this month, the College Squash Association (CSA) announced the recipients of the 2023 CSA Most Improved Team Awards for the recently completed season. Hobart College earned the Barnaby Award for the most improved men’s team. Chatham University, after receiving the Barnaby Award for the past two seasons, captured the Women’s Most Improved Team Award this season.

The Most Improved Team Awards recognize a team from each gender division that has improved the most since the end of the previous season in both its final team ranking and the quality of the opponents it has surpassed. Both awards are voted on by the CSA coaches who represent teams from that division.

Hobart College – Barnaby Award

Hobart representatives Head Coach Pat Cosquer, Omar Kiwan, and Assistant Coach Sanna Koivumaki accepted the Barnaby Award on behalf of their team at the 2023 National Collegiate Individual Championships (photo by Michael Bello).

The men’s team from Hobart College earned Barnaby Award consideration after jumping six ranking spots from 2022 to 2023. Hobart gradually worked its way into the low 20s of the rankings throughout the season and peaked at the right time with a major push at the Men’s Team Championships. Like the Chatham women, Hobart’s first-round upset earned a Top-20 spot, where they ultimately finished in the 20th position.

This is the second Barnaby Award for Hobart College, after winning it previously in 1994. The Barnaby Award was first presented in 1983.

Chatham University – Women’s Most Improved Team Award

Chatham representatives, including Chatham University President David Finegold (third from left) and Head Coach Chris Fernandez (right) accepted the Women’s Most Improved Team Award on behalf of their team at the 2023 National Collegiate Individual Championships (photo by Michael Bello).

The Chatham University women made a huge jump in level in their second season of competition as a varsity program. After finishing close to the bottom of the women’s team rankings in 2022, they surged all the way into the Top 20, finishing the 2022-2023 season 22 spots higher at Number 19. Their upset victory in the first round of Walker Cup competition at the Women’s Team Championships solidified their place among the top 20 women’s teams for the first time in team history.

spot_img