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Season Preview: Men's Squash Eager to Continue Upward Trajectory

Alex Liu
Alex Liu

CSA Rankings

Captains Video Interview

HAVERFORD, Pa. – After finishing the 2017-18 season with the highest year-end ranking for the program since 2004-05 (No. 28),  the Haverford College men's squash team will look to continue that momentum into the 2018-19 slate. In the initial preseason College Squash Association (CSA) rankings, the Fords are again ranked No. 28. The Fords reached 10 wins for the third time in the last four seasons, and return key components of the strong ladder from a season ago.

Haverford will first have to replace the leadership and production of graduated senior co-captains Zach Cole and Peter Dudley. The pair both tallied over 40 career wins at Haverford, joining a select group that includes just three members. Dudley eclipsed Tim Saint '02 to take over the program's career wins lead with 46 triumphs. 

Seniors Ryan Dukarm, Alex Liu, and Yash Singh all return for their fourth seasons with plenty of experience, looking to provide a veteran presence to a young ladder. Singh is just 12 wins away from Dudley's career singles wins record of 46, sitting at seventh all-time in program history. Dukarm, limited by injury a season ago, will also look to continue his chase up the all-time wins leaderboard at Haverford with a strong senior campaign.  Dukarm is currently at 28 career wins. Liu sits just behind, with 25 wins through three years on campus.

Junior Tate Miller topped the Haverford ladder a season ago, representing the Fords at the CSA Individual Championships. Miller was a key part of Haverford's Chaffee Cup title run in 2016-17 as a newcomer, and solidified the top of head coach Niki Clement's nine in his sophomore campaign, playing all 17 team matches at the top flight.

Sophomore Fitz Dougherty returns from a 14-3 first-year campaign, a year in which he tallied the second-most wins in program single-season history between the third and fourth flights. Dougherty's .824 winning percentage was also the second-best mark in the program's history. Sophomore Davis Chase also had an impressive first year on campus, compiling a 10-7 record playing exclusively at the top three flights. 

Keil Reedich (Reistertown, Md.), Alden Weinberg (Providence, R.I.), and Aaron Witkin (Bethesda, Md.) all join the squad for the 2018-19 campaign, hoping to make an immediate impact on the ladder in their initial seasons. 

The 2018-19 season begins at home on Friday, November 2 as Swarthmore visits for an early evening contest (5:30 p.m.).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.

Other season highlights include the annual 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. The Fords will also participate in the inaugural Centennial Conference duels with squads from Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, and Johns Hopkins. The matchups are slated for February 9 on the campus of Franklin & Marshall.