HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's squash team has announced its 2019-20 schedule. The slate is highlighted by six home matches at the GIAC Squash Courts, and 16 regular season matches before the CSA Team Championships are held on the final weekend of February.
The action begins on Halloween, as Head Coach Niki Clement's squad hosts Swarthmore. Haverford is 13-0 against the Garnet, in a series that dates back to the 1994 season. The Fords then head to Annapolis for the annual Navy Round Robin, with matchups against Fordham and host Navy slated for November 9.
The 2019-20 alumni contest is pegged for November 16, before the Fords wrap up the month of November with a trip to Vassar. The Fords will face off with Connecticut College as well as the host Brewers on November 23. The Fords last took a victory over then No. 29 Connecticut College on January 16, 2018, prevailing by a 5-4 final. The Fords have also won their last nine contests over Vassar, a streak that dates back to the 2012-13 campaign.
On December 7, the Fords will host a Saturday night match against St. Lawrence to wrap up the 2019 portion of the slate. The matchup will be the first between the two sides since 2004, and the first visit from St. Lawrence to the Haverford campus since the 2000-01 season.
The Fords then open up the 2020 portion of the schedule with a trip to Fordham to face off with a pair of NESCAC sides in New York City, as they reprise the series with Connecticut College and duel with Hamilton on January 18.
The Pioneer Valley Invitational is then slated for the final weekend in January, with Amherst serving as the primary host of the annual clash of squash titans in Western Massachusetts. Details including opponents and game times are still to be announced.
The Fords open February with home contests against Richmond and Vassar (Feb. 1) before also hosting Denison and Bucknell (Feb. 8) on Senior Day at the GIAC Squash Courts. The final weekend of regular season action sees the Fords head to Dickinson for the second annual Centennial Conference Round Robin also featuring Dickinson, Johns Hopkins, and Franklin & Marshall in what should be a spirited day of competitive action between regional foes in Carlisle.
The CSA Team Championships are slated for the final weekend in February (Feb. 28 - Mar. 1), while the CSA Individual Championships will be held from March 6-8. Locations for the championships are still to be determined.
The Fords' 13 wins a season ago tied for the second-most in program history, and Haverford's four losses were also the least in the history of the program. The Fords reached the 10-win mark for the fourth time in the last five season in 2018-19.
Looking ahead to the 2019-20 campaign, the Fords look well equipped to continue their string of recent successes, despite losing the senior leadership of co-captains Ryan Dukarm and Alex Liu, along with the program's all-time career wins leader in Yash Singh. With Tate Miller slated to be the sole senior on the ladder in 2019-20, the Fords will also rely on juniors Davis Chase and Fitz Dougherty to take on an even larger leadership role after completing a pair of stellar seasons on the court at the top three flights.