HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's squash team has announced its 2018-19 schedule. The Fords are slated for 17 matchups, including six at the GIAC Squash Courts. Haverford is coming off of a 2017-18 campaign that saw the squad finish with the No. 28 ranking in the College Squash Association (CSA) Rankings, the best year-end rank for the Fords since the 2004-05 campaign. The Fords also reached the 10-win milestone for the third time in the last four seasons.
The 2018-19 season begins at home on November 2 as Swarthmore visits for an early evening contest. Haverford then makes the trek to Annapolis, Md. to face off with Fordham and Boston University (Nov. 10) at the Navy Round Robin before wrapping up the first month of the schedule with the annual alumni contest at the GIAC courts on November 17.
December opens with a doubleheader in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on the campus of Vassar College. The Fords will face off with the host Brewers as well as the Raiders of Colgate. The Fords are 18-12 all-time against Vassar and 8-3 against Colgate. Haverford and Colgate have not met since the 2014 season.
The Fords return home for matches against Bard and Chatham on December 8. The Fords have never lost to Bard, with a 13-0 mark dating back to the 1994 campaign. Haverford last faced off with the Raptors in 2006. Chatham represents a new Keystone State rival on the docket as the Cougars hail from the Steel City of Pittsburgh. The squad will be competing in CSA action for the first time in the 2018-19 season.
After the break for the winter holidays, the season picks back up in 2019 with a trip to the Pioneer Valley Invitational in Western Massachusetts. The Fords face Stanford (Jan. 18), Colby (Jan. 19), Wesleyan (Jan. 19), and Bard (Jan. 20) in the annual meeting of squash powerhouses in the shadow of the Berkshires. Last season, the Fords notched victories over Wesleyan and Stanford at the tournament. Following the Pioneer Valley, the Fords return home for a Saturday matinee contest with Vassar (Jan. 26) to wrap up January.
February begins with home doubleheader action against familiar foes Boston College and Bucknell (Feb. 2). Haverford has beaten Bucknell and Boston College in each of the last two seasons. The Fords will participate in the Centennial Conference round-robin with squads from Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, and Johns Hopkins. The inaugural event is slated for February 9 on the campus of Franklin & Marshall. Haverford will be looking for its first ever win over the host Diplomats.
The CSA Team Championships will be held from Feburary 15 to Feburary 17 in New Haven, Conn. While the CSA Individual Championships will be held in Providence, R.I. from March 1 to 3.
Haverford graduated co-captain and career all-time wins leader Peter Dudley, along with co-captain and CSA Scholar Athlete Zach Cole. After following a Chaffee Cup title in 2016-17 with its highest ranking in more than a decade, the 2018-19 season will be one of further growth for the Fords as they look to enter the ranks of the elite programs in the nation.