With a mix of Canadian and American intercollegiate competition on the team’s schedule, the University of Western Ontario’s Men’s Squash program meets a wide variety of teams and players over the course of a season. As far as American competition is concerned, Western comported themselves well, winning 10 matches and earning an 11th place finish in the CSA rankings. Head Coach Derek Moore and his squad will look for more of the same this season, hoping to build on the success from last year. The structure of the roster is in their favor as well, with only two starting members of last season’s squad not returning for this season. UWO predominantly attracts Canadian talent, and this year is no different with four Canadian juniors joining the roster for the first time this year. Coach Moore’s primary goal for his team is a logical one considering where they’ve finished in past years: to be in contention for the Hoehn Cup (B Division championship) during the final team weekend of the year. American squads standing in the way of that goal this year will be reigning Hoehn Cup champions George Washington, Drexel, and Cornell.
2017-2018 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 10-3
Final Ranking: 11
Team Championships Result: 3rd in the Hoehn Cup (B Division)
2018-2019 SEASON PREVIEW
Head Coach: Derek Moore
Returning Players from Team Championships:
- David Mill; 2. Matthew Henderson; 3. Akasham Rajagopaul; 4. Brett Schille; 6. Adam Vanwyngaarden; 7. Jackson Kay; 9. Bryan Hill; 10. Matt Armstrong
Graduated/Non-Returning Players from Team Campionships:
- Nick Guest; 8. Stefan Houbtchev
Additions to 2018-2019 Roster:
- Elliot Hunt
- William Kuhn
- Liam Marrison
- Tianxia “Shaun” Yang
Team Goal: To be in the running and be competitive at the National Championships for the B Division title.
Key Matches: George Washington, Cornell, Drexel
To read season previews for other CSA teams, please visit the 2018-2019 College Squash Season Previews page.
The Bates Women’s Squash program had a lot to be proud of by the end of the 2017-2018 season. After placing a program-record four players on the All-NESCAC teams, the Bobcats took home some hardware from the CSA Team Championships with a win over Dickinson in the Walker Cup final. Over the past four seasons, Bates have jumped in and out of the top 16 in the rankings, and with a 17th place last year, they seem due to jump back into Kurtz Cup play in 2019. Their roster make-up also points to possible success this season with the top eight members of their starting ladder returning for another season, including those four All-NESCAC awardees. Head Coach Pat Cosquer does not have a large roster, so health may be a factor over the course of the year. But, with an additional three first-years joining the squash this season, Bates may yet reach Cosquer’s goals of a Top 16 finish and a NESCAC final appearance. Bates opens the season with a rematch of last year’s Walker Cup final against Dickinson, a result that could set the tone for the season ahead. When the calendar turns to 2019, Bates will try to chase down Amherst and Middlebury while holding Tufts and Wesleyan at bay.
After reaching their highest ranking in this decade in 2015 – Number 19 – the Colby College Women’s Squash team has settled back into the lower half of the C Division rankings over the past few years. Enter Chris Abplanalp, formerly the head coach of the men’s and women’s squash teams at St. Lawrence with quite a few successful accomplishments to his name. Abplanalp will be tasked with bringing some energy back to Waterville, especially in anticipation of Colby’s new athletics facility coming online in a couple years. Abplanalp and the Mules will have a tall task in Year One of his tenure, however. Four-time First Team All-NESCAC selection Devin Mullaney graduated in May, and two other starters from last year’s lineup are not expected to return this season. That leaves a lot of ground to make up for the seven returning starters and the two first-year players who arrived on campus this fall. The 11 players that make up this year’s roster for Colby will have to make the most of their opportunities and create a winning team culture as quickly as they can in preparation for the season. Conn College presents challenging early match-up for the Mules, and then back-to-back weekends against Hamilton and Franklin & Marshall will give a sense of how far the team has come leading up to championship season in February.
