After a wildly exciting first month of 2020, the calendar turns to February this weekend, the last month of the college squash regular season. Although there are not as many matches between teams right next to each other in the polls this weekend, the spotlight will still be just as bright as teams look for those extra wins polish their records.

Critical match-ups among Ivy League foes take center stage this weekend with both men’s and women’s top-8 positioning hanging in the balance.

The Yale women – currently ranked No. 4 – face the toughest challenge and arguably have the most to play for. An upset at No. 2 Princeton on Saturday would give Yale two wins over the top three teams and an even stronger case for a higher ranking. The Bulldogs will need to bounce back quickly from that match because a showdown in Philadelphia with No. 5 Penn looms large on Sunday. The No. 8 Yale men have a difficult road ahead as well, taking on No. 4 Princeton and No. 3 Penn on back-to-back days.

Dartmouth, coming off two big victories and a jump into A Division contention, also make a southern swing, taking on Cornell (Saturday) and Columbia (Sunday). The Dartmouth women’s move to No. 7 in the rankings bumped Columbia to No. 9, but the Lions will be on the prowl looking to reverse that change with a win. With the women’s teams ranked 5 through 9 closer than ever, many eyes around the CSA will be on that match this weekend.

There is also a logjam around the lower end of the B Division for both men and women, and this weekend’s results could go a long way toward clarifying both pictures.

Newly-minted No. 16 Williams men will play a prominent role with a busy weekend ahead. After leapfrogging No. 17 MIT in the latest standings, Williams travels to Cambridge to meet the Engineers head-to-head on Saturday. There will be no rest for the weary, though, as the Ephs return to western Massachusetts on Sunday for the Little Three competition against Amherst and Wesleyan. Amherst, currently tied for 20th after upsetting MIT last weekend, will aim to play spoiler again on their home courts.

On the women’s side, there is already a three-way tie for 15th between Amherst, Bates, and Middlebury, but the weekend’s matches could break up that deadlock thanks to matches with No. 18 Franklin & Marshall, No. 19 Tufts, and No. 20 Wesleyan. With five of those six teams being competitors in the NESCAC, this weekend’s results take on an added layer of importance due to the NESCAC women’s championships being right around the corner.

Another team with a challenging weekend ahead is the No. 24 Hamilton women. Currently seeded in the last position in the Walker (C) Division, they will want to solidify their place with strong performances against No. 26 Colby and No. 23 William Smith on Saturday.

Several club teams also have busy weekends ahead as they look to gain their first taste of match experience in the spring semester.

The order of play for the week from January 30 to February 5 is:

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

View the full college schedules, as well as live results, here:
College Squash Women’s Schedule
College Squash Men’s Schedule

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

Courtesy of Georgetown University Department of Athletics

WASHINGTON – Georgetown University Director of Athletics Lee Reed announced Wednesday that the University has added women’s squash as its newest varsity program.

Intercollegiate squash is governed by the Collegiate Squash Association (CSA) and will bring Georgetown University’s number of non-NCAA varsity sports total to four.  The addition of women’s squash continues Georgetown’s long history of expanding participation opportunities for female student -athletes and invites a broad experience for the student body.

Squash has been at Georgetown since 2007. The current women’s squash program is the third ranked club team in the country, and ranked No.31 by the CSA making it the top-ranked non-varsity program.  This team will practice and hold all home matches at the exciting new squash venue, Squash on Fire, just two miles from campus.  The new venue features eight courts, including two state-of-the-art all-glass exhibition courts.

Georgetown’s outstanding academic reputation coupled with its national excellence in intercollegiate athletics will enable the new program to attract top student-athletes and coaches.  A national search for a head coach will begin in the coming weeks and will be assisted by Wendy Lawrence, former president of the Women’s College Squash Association.

The CSA season runs from November through late February, culminating with the team championships. The CSA individual championships are held in early March. Georgetown will play the maximum of 15 competition dates. Multiple matches can take place on the same date. This past season, there were 31 women’s varsity programs in the CSA as well as 19 club programs including Georgetown.

“As educators and administrators, we strive to broaden the opportunities on campus and the addition of women’s squash aligns with that mission,” said Reed.  “Intercollegiate athletics play such an important role within the framework of a university and I’m excited that more students will have an opportunity to compete as varsity athletes, as well as the chance to engage with a new segment of the Georgetown community.  As we move ahead, the Department of Athletics will be developing a long-term fundraising plan for this exciting new program.”

“We feel honored to have led a team of amazing women during our senior year at Georgetown. We could not be more proud of our teammates’ hard work and accomplishments. To witness the program take this step is unbelievably rewarding, and we are thrilled to watch the team grow even more as part of the Georgetown Athletics family,” said current club co-captains Kaleigh O’Connor (C’20) and Kaitlin Huges (C’20).

For anyone interested in more information on the women’s squash program, please contact Kelli Myers, Chief of Staff, Associate Athletics Director for Sport Administration at [email protected].

Quote from CSA Executive Director & League Commissioner David Poolman:

“We are thrilled to partner with Georgetown Athletics on this exciting transition! This is a fantastic development for the college squash community, a move that aligns perfectly with one of the core parts of our mission: to increase and enhance opportunities to play college squash. The Georgetown women’s team is a welcome addition to the ranks of our varsity teams. Congratulations, Hoyas, and Welcome!”

For the first time in the 2019-2020 season, the College Squash Association (CSA) has applied its ELO-based ranking algorithm to guide the formation of the team rankings. That, coupled with several exciting results from the past couple weeks, resulted in considerable movement among teams in the rankings released today.

The battle for a berth into the national championship draw as a top-8 team is going to be a highlight of the road to the championships for both the women and the men. Dartmouth’s double-upset of Drexel this past weekend added an extra layer of intrigue, with both Big Green teams making the jump to No. 7 in the polls.

In another important contest for Howe Cup seeding this last weekend, the Yale women secured their position at No. 4 with a win against the new No. 6, Stanford. Neither Dartmouth or Yale can rest on their laurels, however, as monumental road match-ups lie on the horizon this weekend. With Dartmouth at Cornell and Columbia and Yale at Princeton and Penn, this weekend’s results could help clarify the rankings picture for the rest of the season.

With the rankings algorithm in use, the CSA will not break ranking ties until all of the matches of the season have been played prior to the championships. This is relevant for a few cases in this first set of rankings. On the men’s side, Drexel and Rochester are currently tied in the fifth position despite Drexel’s win over Rochester during the first semester. Cornell’s run of success has moved them into a tie with George Washington at No. 12, and Middlebury and Amherst have evened out at No. 20, for now. The women have a tie of their own with three teams currently locked at No. 15 – Middlebury, Amherst, and Bates.

Many other teams exhibited slight shifts up or down the rankings now that the second half of the season has kicked into high gear. With several more regular season matches still to play and the conference championship events to follow, these rankings have a long way to go before being finalized.

The roller coaster ride could begin as early as this evening with Penn welcoming Princeton (men: No. 3 vs. No. 4; women: No. 5 vs. No. 2) and Colby hosting Bowdoin (men: No. 23 vs. No. 22; women: No. 26 vs. No. 21).

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

College squash fans will hope they got enough rest over the holidays because the heart of the season is here and the road to the championships is filled with mouthwatering match-ups. This weekend is just one example, with rivalry contests filling all three days.

Prominent on the schedule is the annual Pioneer Valley Invitational, hosted by Amherst College and Mount Holyoke College. Several closely-ranked teams make the trek to western Massachusetts, some to protect their standing and others to make their mark.

One of those programs eager to hold their ground is Connecticut College. In particular, the No. 24-ranked women’s program faces key tests in their bid to capture a Walker (C) Division berth as a Top-24 team. Wins against No. 26 Mount Holyoke and No. 27 William Smith, not to mention a strong performance against No. 20 Wesleyan, could solidify their case. The No. 27 Conn College men have a test of their own when they meet No. 28 Wesleyan later this afternoon.

Pioneer Valley participants Hamilton and Haverford also aim to clinch important victories over the weekend. The Hamilton-Wesleyan men’s match should be a close encounter on Saturday evening between the 28th- and 29th-ranked teams. Just prior to that, Haverford meets Hobart and William Smith Colleges in match-ups with Top-30 placement on the line.

Earlier this week, Yale hosted Trinity in a huge cross-state battle, with the No. 4 Yale women surprising previously-unbeaten No. 2 Trinity, 5-4. That results brightens the spotlight even further on the Stanford women’s third and final regular season trip out east. This weekend, the 5th-ranked Cardinal have to overcome No. 14 George Washington on Friday before the gauntlet of Yale on Saturday and Trinity on Sunday. So many top-10 women’s matches have finished with 5-4 scorelines this season that it would almost be a shock if the matches this weekend didn’t finish with that result.

On the men’s side, two Ivy League peers face stiff tests on their home courts. Newly minted No. 9 Dartmouth hosts three matches over the weekend, looking to carry over the momentum from their upset triumph of George Washington last weekend. No. 5 Drexel and No. 6 Rochester both have better rankings, but beating Dartmouth at home is always a tough ask. Meantime, No. 14 Cornell welcomes No. 13 Franklin & Marshall to Ithaca in their own bid to jump at least a place in the next set of rankings.

Fans will need to stay tuned all the way through Sunday afternoon with two big match-ups looming down south. Virginia welcomes Columbia to Charlottesville for what should be two hotly-contested matches. The Virginia men and the Columbia women are the higher ranked squads by a few places each, but don’t rule out an upset on either side in this one.

And, as if the weekend schedule wasn’t enticing enough, this coming Wednesday features a few great local rivalries, including Princeton versus Penn and Bowdoin at Colby.

The order of play for the week from January 23 to January 29 is:

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

View the full college schedules, as well as live results, here:
College Squash Women’s Schedule
College Squash Men’s Schedule

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

More than any other weekend so far during the 2019-2020 college squash season, this weekend features close match-ups that will impact seeding at the end of the year. Up and down the rankings lists, on both the men’s and the women’s side, there are intriguing matches worth tuning into this weekend.

Matches relevant for the men’s rankings highlight this evening’s events. No. 20 Williams, who has already knocked off No. 19 Middlebury, welcomes No. 18 Navy to northwestern Massachusetts. In battles over Conroy Cup positioning, No. 27 Conn College hosts No. 29 Hamilton and No. 30 Haverford welcomes No. 28 Wesleyan. In the classic border rivalry, No. 13 Western Ontario will take aim at another Top-8 opponent at No. 7 Rochester.

Close women’s matches enter the picture on Saturday and Sunday, including critical matches for teams looking to clinch a Howe Cup spot.  The No. 9 Cornell women face the toughest road when they meet No. 6 Stanford, No. 10 Virginia, and No. 5 Drexel on consecutive days. Stanford also faces No. 1 Harvard and No. 8 Columbia, who is coming off a historic upset victory over Yale last weekend.

Additional intriguing women’s matches include No. 16 Amherst vs. No. 17 Bates at The Heights Casino in Brooklyn, No. 19 Tufts visiting No. 20 Dickinson, and No. 28 Hamilton meeting No. 29 Haverford at Fordham.

All of those tight matches are listed, and we have not even mentioned perhaps the biggest men’s match to date this season: No. 2 Trinity hosting No. 3 Penn in Hartford on Saturday. The Bantams have shown they are for real, handling several tests over the last two weeks (including two wins this week against rivals Rochester and Columbia), but the Quakers will want to make their mark after suffering an 8-1 defeat to No. 1 Harvard last weekend. Look for this one to go down to the wire.

Not to be outdone, there are two other Top-12 men’s matches on the schedule for Sunday. No. 6 Rochester hosts No. 7 Yale in another big match-up of historic rivals, while No. 9 George Washington meets No. 11 Dartmouth with Williams playing host.

The next set of rankings could look significantly different after this weekend’s events. If fans were waiting for the season to kick into high gear before finding a match to attend, now is their time.

The order of play for the week from January 16 to January 22 is:

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

View the full college schedules, as well as live results, here:
College Squash Women’s Schedule
College Squash Men’s Schedule

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