Athletics

Varsity Sports

Men's Squash

Overview

Two-time NESCAC all-conference selection Martin Bawden '14 leads Hamilton College men's squash into 2012-13. Hamilton lost two of its top three players from last season, including Alex Wood '12, who finished his career tied for second place on the program's all-time wins list. But 2012 NESCAC Coach of the Year Jamie King should find a way to replace the graduated seniors and build on the seven victories from 2011-12. The Continentals won two of three matches at the 2012 NESCAC Championships, defeated Wesleyan University in the first round at the College Squash Association (CSA) team championships and ended last season at No. 20 in the CSA rankings. Ronald German '13, Harry Keeshan '13 and Lyman Munschauer '13 are the seniors on the roster.

Hamilton will participate in the NESCAC championships at Trinity College and Wesleyan University for the seventh straight year in February. The Continentals played 14 matches against NESCAC competition last season. The team travels to Yale University for the 2013 team championships, and a couple players go back to Trinity for the CSA Individual Championships.

Hamilton plays its home matches in the Little Squash Center. The $6.1 million on-campus squash facility was completed in October 2006. The center features 10 regulation-size courts, including two with exhibition-style seating, and two team locker rooms. The Continentals are scheduled to play at least five matches at home this season. Hamilton hosts Williams College and Navy on Nov. 16. Franklin & Marshall College and Northeastern University come to campus on Jan. 26 and 27, and St. Lawrence University visits the Little Squash Center on Jan. 30.

Bawden made the NESCAC all-conference second team for the second year in a row in 2012, and played in the 2011 CSA Individual Championships as a freshman. He won nine matches last season and finished the year at the second position in the lineup. Keeshan (fourth position) won six matches a season ago and has 24 career victories. Teddy Black '15 (fifth) won five matches in his rookie season and Peter Harrison '15 (sixth) posted a team-high 11 wins in his first season. German (seventh) recorded five victories in 2011-12 and has 26 for his career. Ted Nehrbas '15 (eighth) and Walker Lourie '15 (ninth) boasted nine wins apiece in their first year.

In 2009-10, the Continentals captured the Summers Cup "C" Division consolation bracket title at the CSA team championships for the second straight year. Hamilton won 11 matches and finished the season ranked 21st by the CSA. The Continentals extended their streak of consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins to six. Hamilton also received the Sloane Award for team sportsmanship for the second time in three seasons.

The Continentals were first given the prestigious Sloane Award at the 2008 CSA Team Championships. The award is voted on by the coaches and is presented to the team that best displayed the highest level of sportsmanship during the season. Coach King is the first person to receive the award as a player (1984 as Williams team captain) and as a coach. Hamilton went on to win two of three matches and finished third in the Summers Cup bracket.

The Buff and Blue have launched themselves into the upper half of the college squash rankings in recent years. In 2007-08, Hamilton wrapped up the season ranked 19th, which is the team's best performance in 12 years under King. The Continentals won the 2002 Bill Barhite Award, which goes to the most improved team in the CSA. After a 2-16 record in 2000-01, Hamilton went 10-9 and took third place in the Conroy Cup at the 2002 CSA Team Championships. The Continentals were the Conroy runners-up the following year. Hamilton brought home the Conroy team trophy in 1996.

Hamilton has experienced some individual success during the program's long history, which dates back to 1980. Elias Hassanali '91 was an All-America selection after the 1988-89 season. Hassanali won 17 out of 20 matches and led the Continentals to a 14-5 record. The 14 wins still stand as the team record for most in a season. John DeWitt '09, who is the career leader with 48 victories, made the 2009 NESCAC All-Conference Team.

The Continentals excel on the court and in the classroom. Wood made the NESCAC winter all-academic team for the second straight season in 2011-12, and graduated summa cum laude in his class. Each honoree is a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35. The student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic standing at his or her institution to be considered for honors. Both Wood and Mark Clark '11 were elected to the Epsilon chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, which is the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society, during their respective senior years.

Hamilton often travels during winter break for training trips so the players can go to places they have never seen before. A January 2010 training trip took the team to Washington, D.C., for six days. In 2009, the team spent a few days in the Cayman Islands. The Continentals visited Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., for several days in January 2006. Eight years ago, the team traveled overseas for a week-long stay in the city of Amsterdam. Hamilton took advantage of the opportunity to play a number of European club teams and participated in intense training sessions.