Squash Champs

GAMBIER, Ohio (February 27, 2009) Kenyon's squash club team won its division championship recently in the College Squash Association Team National Championships in Princeton, New Jersey. In pursuit of their title, the Kenyon team beat the University Vermont, 9-0; Vassar College, 8-1; and Purdue University, 8-1.

The team ended its season with an overall national ranking of 41.

For those of you who don't know the first thing about squash, Brandon Bollinger '11 of Baltimore, Maryland, explained. "You play on an indoor court with a racquet and a small rubber ball that bounces very little," he said. "The point of the game is to play keep-away. It's kind of like doing yoga and sprinting while hitting a ball." Although physically demanding, the sport also "involves a lot of thinking, like a chess game, and is about finesse and precision in hitting the ball where you want it."

So what does the future hold for Kenyon squash? Matt Sargent '10 of Darien, Connecticut, said the team hopes that their championship will "create new interest in squash on campus, enough to maybe get a women's squash team formed and for us to host a tournament at the KAC (Kenyon Athletic Center) next fall." Spencer Carlson '12 of Bridgehampton, New York, added, "Nationals will hopefully increase our status and recognition on campus within the student body and the athletic department."

Players find they can "relieve stress by coming down to the KAC and smacking a ball around," Sargent said.

The other players are Danilo Lobo Dias '12 of Berlin, Connecticut; Peter Nolan '11 of Montclair, New Jersey; Mike Shea '10 of Summit, New Jersey; Dave Still '09 of Larchmont, New York; Rohit Sudarshan '11 of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Chris Wert '12 of Rosemont, Pennsylvania. John Knepper '62 is the volunteer coach and helps with team practices three days a week.

"We try to play as much as we can," Bollinger said. "It's just a fun game, social in a lot of ways."

By Stephanie Reiches '09 of Bexley, Ohio