Dartmouth rising senior Annie Blasberg offers her perspective on what the newest student-athletes can expect when they arrive on campus in the fall.

With the class of 2019 graduated and the summer now started, incoming freshmen are surely anticipating the start of their college careers. An unfamiliar campus, new people, challenging classes, and living away from home may feel overwhelming when first arriving at school. Being on court with your teammates will quickly establish a routine and a feeling of comfort as you adjust to your new environment.

College squash is a refreshing change after years of junior tournaments. You will be exposed to a higher level of competition and more experienced players both in matches and on your own team. Showing up for everything prepared and ready to work hard is important in gaining the respect of your teammates.  

You will undoubtedly be practicing hard all summer in order to make a big impression in the fall, but don’t forget to give your body time to rest – it is a long season. Keep in mind: practices won’t just be on court. There’s off-court conditioning, and it might be your first time strength-training with a team.    Looking after your body, stretching, eating well, and getting enough sleep are essentials – the best teammate is one who stays healthy. With more regimented practices, lifting, and conditioning, you will find yourself improving and getting stronger.

You will quickly realize the necessity of time management. Learning how to juggle classes, school work, practices, traveling, and matches, while also squeezing in some time to socialize and, hopefully, get sleep is an art that college athletes across campuses somehow learn to master. It’s an impressive balancing act and a skill that will be very useful throughout life. Many programs provide academic tutoring for student-athletes. Take advantage of this opportunity right away to get off to a great start.  

One of the biggest differences from juniors is the team dynamic of college squash. Though you might have played on your high school squash team, for most junior squash players, the focus was on achieving good results in individual tournaments with an eye towards college recruiting.  Fortunately, the stress and pressure of the recruitment process is behind you.

You are now surrounded by a group of people who share a love for the sport and a common goal. College matches take on a different tone. You no longer think about how winning or losing will affect your individual ranking; rather, there is only an emphasis on performing well to benefit your team. It is still just you and your opponent on court, but now you feel the support of your team in matches, during practice, and around campus. 

You might be curious about where you will fit in on the ladder. Rest assured, no matter where you are, your team is excited to have you. Every position carries the same weight. Your teammates will become some of your closest friends, not only throughout your time at college, but in life as well. 

Over your college squash career, you’ll spend a lot of time with your teammates at practice, on the bus, and in hotels.  You’ll share exciting wins with your team, but also tough losses. Those are moments that often bring you closer together. Playing squash and being a member of a team in college is an unforgettable experience.

The beginning of college comes with a lot of changes, which may seem intimidating. These changes, however, can lead to many new and thrilling opportunities. As the fall approaches, being nervous will be natural. Knowing that you have four of the best years of your life ahead of you should help replace those nerves with excitement and enthusiasm.

At the College Squash Association Board of Directors meeting in May, the Board voted to officially sanction the Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (MASC), the first organization of its kind for college squash, on a provisional basis for the 2019-2020 season.

MASC now joins the Ivy League, Liberty League, and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) as a conference that sponsors squash and stages a championship under the CSA umbrella. This distinction will enable CSA member schools who lack formal squash conference affiliation to officially join the league. MASC will be subject to CSA Board review after the 2019-20 season.

The Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference is the first squash-specific collegiate athletic conference in the United States. After holding its first season-ending championship event in the 2018-2019 season, MASC is poised for expanded operations this season.

After a successful inaugural championship that was held at the MacArthur Squash Center at the University of Virginia, the 2020 championship will be held in Washington, D.C. at Squash on Fire and George Washington University from February 7-9, 2020.

The members of MASC for the 2019-2020 season are as follows:

One of the conference’s goals is to continue to help grow squash in the United States. MASC provides an additional level of infrastructure to the collegiate game, laying the foundation for rivalries to develop and offering a potential landing spot for future varsity squash programs.

The concept for MASC was developed and implemented by George Washington University Assistant Coach Anderson Good. Questions concerning the conference and its operations should be directed to Anderson at agood24@gwu.edu.

For the first time ever, junior squash players who are interested in being recruited to play varsity squash in college will have a standard start date for recruitment by college coaches – September 1 of their junior year in high school.

In an effort to clarify and simplify the recruiting timeline for prospective squash student-athletes, the College Squash Association (CSA) Board of Directors adopted a proposal that standardizes the first opportunity for recruiting activities for all varsity teams, regardless of their schools’ NCAA Division affiliation.

“This is an exciting development for all college squash constituents,” CSA Executive Director & League Commissioner David Poolman said in response to the adopted proposal. “The community of junior players – potential future CSA student-athletes and their families – now have a clear start date for their formal college search and recruitment. Our coaches, whose schools belong to different NCAA divisions and conferences, can focus on their personal recruiting strategies from the same starting point as their peers.”

The impetus for the proposal came from several factors. The movement to curb early recruiting in intercollegiate athletics has enacted concrete changes in recent years, with college squash looking to match those efforts. As important as the college search and recruitment process is, it is also very complex, causing frustration and confusion for many prospective squash student-athletes and their families. Simplifying the process was a primary goal.

“Finding a start date that was not too early, yet still offers the recruited student-athlete ample time to research all options, create relationships with coaches, and visit campuses, was paramount,” Poolman said.

While the timeline is in effect for all CSA member teams, the CSA Board continues to review the differences between NCAA Division I and Division III rules. Relevant discrepancies will be addressed with an eye towards clarity and consistency for all CSA constituents.

The recruiting timeline (below) went into effect on June 7. For a more detailed outline of the timeline and current rules, please visit this resource on the CSA website. Additional guidance on CSA recruiting and eligibility regulations and messaging will be shared in the coming months.

First Opportunity for Recruiting Activity

Chip Fishback, the 21-year veteran of William Smith College Athletics as Head Squash and Tennis Coach, announced his retirement on Friday morning, June 7. Fishback is excited to turn his attention to his family full-time, including raising and coaching his three sons.

As the only head coach in the history of William Smith Squash, Fishback lead his teams to an overall winning record, including two Liberty League Championships and five College Squash Association divisional championships. 2005 was a banner year for the Herons, with the team achieving a program-best (at the time) 15 wins, finishing ranked 15th in the nation, and earning Fishback Liberty League Coach of the Year honors.

“It is with both joy and sorrow that I am announcing my retirement as the head coach of the William Smith tennis and squash programs,” Fishback said. “The greatest personal happiness in my life has come from raising my family, and [my wife] Dawn and I want to enjoy every moment of that time before it’s gone.”

Fishback’s Heron team members have earned a strong list of accolades for their Liberty League play. In his career, 35 of Fishback’s players earned all-conference selections. Additionally, he had two League players of the year and three rookies of the year under his tutelage.

William Smith will conduct a national search to find its next head coach. For additional information, please view the formal press release here. 

Theo Woodward, the Drexel University Assistant Coach of Men’s and Women’s Squash for the past two years, has been named the Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Squash at Bowdoin College, according to the college’s press release from May 21.

Prior to his stint at Drexel, Woodward was the assistant coach at Dartmouth College for five years.

With Woodward assisting at the helm, both Dartmouth’s and Drexel’s squash programs showed continued improvement and sustained success. The Drexel Women’s team and Dartmouth Men’s team each earned program-best rankings during Woodward’s tenure.

Along with his college coaching credentials, Woodward also has experience coaching and mentoring professionals and junior international players.

For more information about Woodward’s hire at Bowdoin, please find the press release here.

Wendy Lawrence, the head coach of the George Washington University Men’s and Women’s Squash programs and a veteran leader in the Washington, D.C. and college squash communities, announced her retirement on Tuesday. Lawrence spent the last 12 years as Head Coach at GW, leading the men’s team since 2007 and the women’s team since 2010.

Since her playing days as an undergraduate at Vassar College, Lawrence has been a fixture in squash circles in the United States, influencing players at all levels. Now, over 40 years later, she leaves a legacy that will be remembered and revered for years to come.

Most recently, Lawrence has lead the GW squash teams to program bests for both of the teams and for individuals on each team. In 2019, the men’s program won its second straight Hoehn Cup with two student-athletes, senior Mahmoud Abdel-Maksoud and sophomore Mohammed Al-Terki, earning All-America honors. The GW women reached their highest team ranking of seventh in 2015, one year after their first Kurtz Cup victory. Sophomore Zoe Foo Yuk Han became the highest ranked individual player in GW women’s program history in 2019 when she finished the season ranked 12th.

In addition to her impressive leadership at George Washington, Lawrence also provided crucial guidance to the College Squash Association. For four years from 2013 to 2017, Lawrence filled the critical role of President of the Women’s College Squash Association. Then, in 2017, as the movement to create a single board to oversee college squash took shape, Lawrence took the reins again, stepping into the roles of Board Member, Coaches Advisory Committee leader, and Women’s Subcommittee Chair with aplomb.

“I have been coaching squash for over forty years at the club, high school and now college level and as much as I have loved every year, I feel it is time to pass the torch to another,” Lawrence stated. “I am proud of the work I have been involved with at the CSA over the past six years, and it has been an invaluable experience for me to have gotten to work everyone in the college squash community.”

The George Washington Athletics Department published a glowing tribute to Lawrence on Tuesday written by graduating senior captain Brooke Feldman. The article can be found here. For a comprehensive account of Lawrence’s career and well-deserved accolades, please view her bio on the the GW Athletics website.

Bowdoin College has announced that its Head Men’s and Women’s Squash Coach, Tomas Fortson, has stepped down from his position after 19 years in the role.  Effective at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year, Fortson also vacates his Head Men’s Golf Coach position.

In his almost two decades leading the Bowdoin squash programs, Fortson amassed 210 wins with the women’s team and 197 wins at the helm of the men’s team, making him the winningest coach in both programs’ histories.

Fortson’s teams also brought home several trophies and honors during his tenure, including the 2003 Kurtz Cup for the women, the 2011 Summers Cup for the men, and the 2013 Sloane Award for men’s team sportsmanship. In addition, as a testament to Fortson’s ability to teach and develop players, three of the last six Wetzel Award winners were Bowdoin student-athletes (Michaela Martin, 2014; Zoe Wood, 2018; Natasha Belsky, 2019).

Along with his administration of Bowdoin teams, Fortson also held important leadership roles with the College Squash Association (CSA). Starting in 2013, Fortson held positions on the Men’s CSA Executive Committee until it disbanded at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year. With the reformatted CSA Board, Fortson was Chair of the Men’s Subcommittee for the last two seasons.

“It is impossible to encapsulate everything that nearly 20 years as part of college squash has meant to me,” said Fortson. “It has been a fun and proud 19 years for me as a college coach, and I feel honored to have been part of the first CSA Board.”

Fortson intends to pursue a role as a golf professional in a warmer climate.  Bowdoin will begin a national search for a new coach immediately.  Please view the college’s full press release here.