The squash team won their division of the Howe Cup in the National College Squash Association (CSA) Championships on Sunday Feb. 28 with three wins over the weekend at Yale University. Over the course of the three-day tournament, the Blue defeated Drexel University 9-0 on Friday, University of Rochester 7-2 on Saturday and University of Notre Dame 9-0 on Sunday for the sweep.
This new E Division that the team competes in came about because, according to Coach Wendy Berry, “each year, new college programs are starting up and, until last year, only 32 teams were competing. Now the CSA has reached 40 college programs. The team won more matches in one weekend than during the rest of the season put together. Everyone was ecstatic.”
In addition to the achievement by the entire almost brand-new team, player Ashley Stevens ’10 won the prestigious Ann Wetzel Award in recognition of her exceptional attributes as a player over the last three years.
The Wetzel Award is presented each year to a senior who began playing squash in college and has progressed to a high level of skill, demonstrates sound understanding of the game and exhibits good sportsmanship and a positive demeanor on the court. The award is named after Ann Wetzel, the 1964 national squash champion. Wetzel founded the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s varsity team in 1970. She then coached at the University of Pennsylvania for over 20 years.
Players are nominated for the award by their coaches. The nominations then go to the awards committee, who review the nominations and select the nominee who best meets the award criteria. The winner is announced at the National Team Championships, and the winner’s institution keeps the permanent trophy for a year.
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