The college squash season shifts into an even higher gear this weekend with NESCAC teams now ready to compete, just before a short pause for the Thanksgiving break. The Philadelphia area will once again draw a great deal of attention with 20 different teams contesting matches in the region.

• Hottest Ticket in Town – Forget the U.S. Junior Squash Nationals and even the Philadelphia Marathon, the place to be this weekend will be at the courts at Penn, Drexel, and Princeton. 10 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams will stage an array of matches from this evening through Monday, including cross-regional matchups like Cornell-Virginia and Bates-Dickinson.
• Stanford Carries On – After teetering on the brink of transition to club status, the Stanford women’s program is back in varsity action with five matches on the docket for their first trip east this season. The first two matches of those five against Cornell (Friday) and Penn (Saturday) are the most significant fixtures of their weekend.
• Hamilton Hosts Duals – Hamilton College’s 10 courts will be buzzing with action as they host a round robin of their own against Upstate New York neighbors Hobart & William Smith and conference foes Connecticut College and Tufts. Hamilton will look to apply their home court advantage in particularly tough matchups against Conn College and HWS.
• Cross-Border Rivalries Renewed – Western Ontario make their second foray over the border this weekend, this time to St. Lawrence University where the Mustangs will face the hosts and Middlebury College, who will be in their first action of the season.
• A Bronx Tale – Ever the generous host of cross-regional competitors, Fordham welcomes Cal-Berkeley, Washington University in St. Louis, and Northeastern to the Big Apple. Berkeley, the strongest men’s club team from two years ago, begins their campaign to maintain that title this weekend.

Spotlight Matches
Women
#5 Virginia vs. #9 Penn, #3 Princeton, & #8 Cornell
#10 Stanford vs. #8 Cornell & #9 Penn
#21 William Smith vs. #22 Hamilton & #24 Conn College

Men
#8 Virginia vs. #9 Cornell
#20 St. Lawrence vs. #21 Middlebury
#23 Bates vs. #26 Dickinson
#27 Hamilton vs. #25 Hobart & #29 Conn College

Order of Play
The order of play for the week from November 18 to November 24 is:

• 3-court system: 2,3,1 / 4,5,6 / 8,7,9
• 5-court system: 2,1 / 4,3 / 5,6 / 7,8 / 10,9

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 also follow the CSA on Twitter (@CollegeSquash) and Instagram (@college_squash) for social media updates throughout the weekend.

The College Squash Association (CSA) has updated its team rankings heading into a very busy weekend of competition. Several club teams join the varsity teams in the rankings after recording at least three officials matches so far this season.

With many teams just getting their seasons going, movement in the rankings from the preseason release was generally limited. There were some notable changes, however, with two substantial jumps, one in each league.

As referenced in previous weekend recap articles, Chatham University’s men’s team has had a hot start, including an upset of Franklin & Marshall last weekend. That performance catapults Chatham up to No. 15 in this week’s rankings on the men’s side.

The University of Virginia women scored a significant upset of their own over Columbia University on Sunday, meaning they jump into the No. 5 spot this week. That standing will be tested right away, though, when they continue their challenging early road schedule with matchups against No. 9 Penn, No. 3 Princeton, and No. 8 Cornell this weekend.

The reign of intercollegiate club squash lives in Boston at this early juncture of the season, with the Northeastern University women and Boston University men taking the top spots in the club team rankings this week.

To view the full set of rankings, please see below and visit the College Squash Team Rankings page.

With action at full tilt in this young season, some teams are already making their mark and putting their future opponents on notice of things to come.

• The Drexel women and the Penn men claimed Pennsylvania bragging rights with their respective 4-0 records this weekend, but as suspected, excitement abounded throughout the weekend.
• The most notable result was the preseason No. 24 Chatham men running through No. 15 Franklin & Marshall by a solid 7-2 margin. This came two days after No. 26 Dickinson almost shocked F&M as well. The Franklin & Marshall women did score their own weekend upset, taking down Dickinson 6-3 on Friday night.
• Speaking of upsets, The No. 9 Virginia women salvaged the northern roadtrip for the Cavaliers with a monumental 5-4 victory over preseason No. 4 Columbia. If this result is any indication, Top-8 positioning for the women will be a battle all season long, just like two years ago.
• Congratulations to the Georgetown women, who captured the first two victories in their varsity program’s history with wins over Haverford and Denison at the Navy Round Robin. Navy captured three more wins on the men’s side of the event.
• The preseason No. 12 Western Ontario men scored a crucial 5-4 victory over an upstart No. 13 MIT squad on Friday evening.
• St. Lawrence started off their season with strong wins against close rivals Hobart & William Smith, but HWS rebounded with conference victories of their own on Sunday at Vassar.
• The Harvard men began their title defense with a comfortable 9-0 victory of University of Rochester on Sunday.
• In club squash action, congratulations are in order for the team from University of Michigan, which captured the eight-team Jesters Cincinnati Round Robin title. Ohio State University, which went 3-0 in pool play, was the runner-up. Many thanks again to the Jesters, Cincinnati Country Club, and Cincinnati Squash Academy for hosting a great event!
• Other top club winners included the Boston College women over Northeastern and the Georgetown men handing Richmond their first loss of the season.

College squash competition ramps into high gear this weekend with a full slate of matches on the docket. From almost all corners of the CSA geographic footprint, teams will acquire crucial early season experience.

• Pennsylvania Bragging Rights Up For Grabs – Penn and Drexel will once again host a round robin competition among varsity teams from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This year, men’s and women’s teams from Chatham, Dickinson, and Franklin & Marshall will compete against the hosts for PA supremacy. The Penn-Drexel and Dickinson-Franklin & Marshall matchups are the headliners of the competition, but look for Chatham to try to spoil the party.
• Virginia Travels North, Western Comes South – Although it’s not a true round robin, Virginia and the Western Ontario men will converge on the tri-state area for a set of matches against common opponents. Virginia against Yale and Columbia, and Western against MIT, Columbia, and Yale are all closely ranked teams, creating intriguing matchups.
• Hobart & William Smith Continue Liberty League Swing – The Statesmen and Herons carry on with their early season road trip through Liberty League country with matches against St. Lawrence and Vassar.
• Navy Round Robin Returns – A regular event on the college squash calendar returns with Navy hosting familiar guests Haverford, Fordham men, Denison, Boston University, and Georgetown women. The women’s matchup between Haverford and Georgetown should present a good early test for both teams.
• Midwest Clubs Venture to Cincinnati – For the first time in recent history, the city of Cincinnati will be the host of a college squash round robin event, with Carnegie Mellon, Kenyon, Indiana, and Michigan heading that way. Special thanks to the Jesters Group and the Cincinnati Country Club to spearheading the effort to host.
• Top Clubs Face Off – Two of the top club teams on the women’s side, Northeastern and Boston College, will square off in a local grudge match this weekend. For the men, Richmond and Georgetown have only one loss between them and will battle it out for an early season leg up on Saturday.

Spotlight Matches
 Women
#6 Drexel vs. #8 Penn
#18 Franklin & Marshal vs. #17 Dickinson
#21 William Smith at #20 St. Lawrence
#26 Haverford vs. #27 Georgetown

Men
#1 Penn vs. #5 Drexel
#7 Virginia at #6 Columbia
#7 Virginia at #8 Yale
#12 Western vs. #13 MIT

Order of Play
The order of play for the week from November 11 to November 17 is:

• 3-court system: 1,3,2 / 5,6,4 / 7,8,9
• 5-court system: 2,1 / 4,3 / 6,5 / 8,7 / 10,9

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 also follow the CSA on Twitter (@CollegeSquash) and Instagram (@college_squash) for social media updates throughout the weekend.

Round Robin competitions between multiple teams at Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Vassar College, and in Chicago headlined the first weekend of competition with varsity teams in action.

• The Chatham University men won the headlining match of the weekend against Hobart. The No. 24 vs No. 25 matchup went Chatham’s way by an 8-1 score.
• The William Smith women went 2-0 in their matches against Denison and Chatham.
• In Poughkeepsie, NY, host teams from Vassar had a strong weekend. The women went a sterling 4-0 with wins over club teams Boston University, Colgate, Fordham, and Northeastern, while the men were 3-2 on the weekend.
• The men’s teams from Boston University and Georgetown emerged as top club teams so far this season, with each team winning four matches over the weekend. Head to head, BU was victorious over Georgetown by a close 5-4 score.
• While the Vassar women avenged their loss to Northeastern from the 2020 E Division Championship match, Northeastern should still be a top women’s club team this year, showing early success with three wins over the weekend.
• The U.S. Naval Academy men ventured to the Midwest and built some early season momentum with five wins against club teams from University of Chicago, Indiana, Washington University in St. Louis, Ohio State, and Northwestern.
• University of Chicago was the best of the rest in that round robin, taking three wins after their loss to Navy.
• Not to be forgotten, the University of Richmond men are off to a torrid start down south, racking up six wins and zero losses so far this season.

Upcoming matches

Before several more teams jump into full competition this weekend, be sure to follow two local matchups on Wednesday evening. Navy hosts rising power Virginia while Rochester, under new head coach Mario Yanez, welcomes Hobart.

Yale University Bulldogs

2021-2022 SEASON PREVIEW

• First the first time in almost 40 years, the Yale squash program will not have Dave Talbott roaming the halls in an official capacity. Lynn Leong takes over as head coach of both programs for her first full competition season, and hopes are high for this new era under her leadership.
• The Yale women graduated two stalwarts at the top of their 2020 lineup – Lucy Beecroft and Helen Teegan – which finished third in the country, so the first challenge will be replacing that leadership and talent. Reinforcements in the form of five additions to the roster should help the cause.
• The men’s team also graduated their standard bearer, Spencer Lovejoy, but have a deep and talented returning group to navigate the transition. Six recruits join the fray to help keep Yale in the top 8 of a very competitive portion of the men’s rankings.

Head Coach:  Lynn Leong
Assistant Coach:  Campbell Grayson

Women’s Team Captain:  Aishwarya Bhattacharya
Men’s Team Captain:  Harrison Gill

Women’s Team Roster Updates
Returning Players:  Elisabeth Ross, Brianna Jefferson, Aishwarya Bhattacharya, Gigi Yeung, Julia Zhukovets, Ainsley Weber
Graduated/Non-Returning Starting Players:  Lucy Beecroft (First Team All-America), Helen Teegan (Second Team All-America), Riya Mital, Alexis Lazor, Nikita Joshi, Jessica Yacobucci
Additions to 2021-2022 Roster:  Christy Lau, Nina Mital, Sneha Sivakumar, Meghna Sreedhar, Lindsay Westerfield

Men’s Team Roster Updates
Returning Players:  Nadav Raziel (Second Team All-America), Harrison Gill (Second Team All-America), Siow Yee Xian, Eric Kim, Jed Burde, Tyler Carney, Jacob Rhee, Janson Chu, Samuel Turner, Patrick Feeley, David Tsai, Tiber Worth
Graduated/Non-Returning Starting Players:  Spencer Lovejoy (First Team All-America), Calvin McCafferty, Parth Bhatia
Additions to 2021-2022 Roster:  Taylor Clayton, Max Forster, Nikhil Ismail, Brian Leonard, Maxwell Orr, Merritt Wurts

Women’s Team Goal:  Keep the team competitive for the national championship.
Men’s Team Goal: To challenge the teams ahead of us in the rankings.

Women’s Key Matches: Ivy League schedule, Virginia, Drexel, Trinity
Men’s Key Matches: Virginia, Drexel, Cornell, Columbia, Rochester

Quote: “I hope we have a safe and COVID-free season.”

To read season previews for other CSA teams, please visit the 2021-2022 College Squash Season Previews page.

614 Days. That is how long it has been since the final team matches of the 2019-2020 college squash season, and it could not feel better as several teams gather for round robin competitions this weekend.

There always seems to be at least one match which provides some early season intrigue for fans, and this year is no different. Hobart College hosts the Chatham University men in upstate New York on Saturday in a battle between teams on the rise that are right next to each other (25th and 24th, respectively) in the preseason rankings that were released yesterday. The match will be an early season test for both squads which have added new talent – and in Chatham’s case this summer, a new coach, Chris Fernandez – in recent years.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges will also play host to the Chatham women’s team as well as the teams from Denison University. All three of those visiting teams are embarking on their first full seasons of varsity competition, an amazing milestone and a great landmark as the CSA hopes to continue to expand its geographic footprint into the Midwest.

Staying in upstate New York, Vassar College will be the home venue for a large round robin featuring a wide array of varsity and club teams. A big battle between Vassar and Fordham kicks off the festivities on Saturday morning, before Boston University, Northeastern, Swarthmore, the Colgate women, and the Georgetown men’s club team get involved in the action.

Speaking earlier of the Midwest, preseason men’s No. 21 Navy will get their season going with a valuable trip to the Hussain MetroSquash Center and the University Club in Chicago. There they will face University of Chicago this evening before a packed schedule against Indiana, Washington University in St. Louis, Ohio State, and Northwestern. It’s a quick trip back and a ramp-up in competition for Navy, which takes on No. 7 Virginia next week on Wednesday.

Other matches over the weekend include the University of Richmond men hosting Navy’s club team and University of North Carolina, Lehigh men facing Patriot League foe Bucknell and Princeton’s club team, and a Beantown battle between Wellesley and the Boston College women’s team. Additionally, the annual Ivy League Scrimmages are slated for this weekend at Yale University.

Hobart’s season-opening schedule does not get any easier when they head to No. 10 Rochester for a midweek clash on Wednesday next week.

The order of play for this week (Nov. 4-10) is:

• 3-court system: 3,2,1 / 5,4,6 / 7,9,8
• 5-court system: 1,2 / 4,3 / 6,5 / 7,8 / 10,9

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 also follow the CSA on Twitter (@CollegeSquash) and Instagram (@college_squash) for social media updates throughout the weekend.

Williams College Ephs

2021-2022 SEASON PREVIEW

• The roster makeup of the Williams men’s and women’s teams seem to be in similar places heading into the 2021-2022 season with a fairly even mix of returning starters, graduated players, and newcomers expected to contribute.
• While the women’s team graduated a few players from the top of their ladder, their new additions are expected to fill those holes nicely when competition gets started in a few weeks.
• The Williams men should be set at the top of the lineup with four of their top six starters returning, but it is the depth that will make all of the difference for the Ephs success this season.

Head Coach:  Zavi Levy
Assistant Coach:  Blair Dils

Women’s Team Captains:  Alex Pear, Kathryn Wright
Men’s Team Captains:  Jacob Bassil, Wyatt Khosrowshahi, A.J. Solecki

Women’s Team Roster Updates
Returning Players:  Haley Jefferson, Yu Quan Ng, Kathryn Wright, Mira Kamat, Alexandra Pear, Isabel Kelly, Nikita Srivastava
Graduated/Non-Returning Starting Players:  Julia Ward, Sarah Willwerth, Melissa Swann, Abigail LeBlanc, Anna Nicholson, Eliza Bower, Adrienne Conza, Cassie Deshong
Additions to 2021-2022 Roster:  Nora Brant, Theresa Kay, Amanda Solecki

Men’s Team Roster Updates
Returning Players:  Jacob Bassil, Wyatt Khosrowshahi, Udai Pal, A.J. Solecki, Charles Merrill, Will Comyns, Nilay Neelaveni,  
Graduated/Non-Returning Starting Players:  Will Means, David Pincus, Carl Shuck, Claude Smith, Julius Dodson, Tucker Van Eck
Additions to 2021-2022 Roster:  Cameron Darnell, William Evans, Pierce Henderson, Andrew Lee, Jack Lee, Andrew Minnis

Teams’ Goal:  Have fun, work hard, get our athletes back in shape, and start competing again.

Women’s Key Matches: Dartmouth, Bates, Amherst, Stanford
Men’s Key Matches: Tufts, Dartmouth, Franklin & Marshall, Amherst, MIT

To read season previews for other CSA teams, please visit the 2021-2022 College Squash Season Previews page.

Western University (Ontario) Mustangs

2021-2022 SEASON PREVIEW

• Head Coach and Western alumnus Chris Hanebury finally gets a chance to lead his team in competition after taking over the head role at the beginning of the pandemic.
• Even before worrying about the massive early-season matches against MIT, Columbia, and Yale, the Mustangs will need to navigate the travel restrictions related to crossing the border.
• Once matchday comes, the lineup will look considerably different than the last time we saw them on court, with six of the nine starters from the 2020 championships having moved on to post-college life.
• Notably, the team is dedicating their efforts this season to the memory of legendary Western coach Jack Fairs, who passed away earlier this year.

Head Coach:  Chris Hanebury
Assistant Coach:  Matt Henderson

Team Captains:  Elliott Hunt, Akasham Rajagopal

Men’s Team Roster Updates
Returning Players:  Akasham Rajagopaul, Elliott Hunt, Douglas Kosciukiewicz, Mitchell Kahnert, Robert Mill, William Kuhn, John Dempsey, Teddy Littler, Nathan Smith, Kyle Spackman  
Graduated/Non-Returning Starting Players:  Matthew Henderson, David Mill, Brett Schille, Liam Marrison, Adam Vanwyngaarden, Jackson Kay
Additions to 2021-2022 Roster:  Jagroop Bhangoo, Ben Boulanger, Taylor Carrick, Dylan Deverill, Nour Eldeen Eladly, Jason Herring, Essa Huq, Amin Khan, Griffin Manley, Antonio Mendes, Vivek Mody, Liam Watson

Team Goal: To work hard and improve and contest to be in the A Division.

Key Matches: MIT, Columbia, Rochester, Cornell

Coach’s Quote: “Western is dedicating this season to Jack Fairs. We will do our best to prepare and give it our all to make all of our alumni proud in the memory of Jack.”

To read season previews for other CSA teams, please visit the 2021-2022 College Squash Season Previews page.