Haverford College had a national college squash champion who went on to international fame and the cover of Sports Illustrated three decades before it had a squash team! The co-conspirators in this amazing feat were United States Squash Hall of Fame charter member G. Diehl Mateer ’50, who practiced at nearby Haverford School and other Main Line locations, and coach Norm Bramall (inducted in College Squash Hall of Fame in 2016), who guided the college's men's tennis teams for over 40 years but also knew more than a thing or two about squash.
Reminiscences of Mateer's rise to the top of the college squash stage with individual championships in 1948 and 1949, helped fuel keen alumni interest in starting squash when Haverford renovated its athletic facilities in 1983-84. The Sesquicentennial Squash Courts were built between Ryan Gym and Alumni Field House and a club program installed for men and women. By the early 1990's, the programs, then under the guidance of another long-time men's tennis mentor, Albert Dillon, were clamoring for varsity status -- and earned it! Dillon, in recognition for coaching excellence, would later be inducted into the Women's College Squash Hall of Fame in 2002.
The varsity teams immediately began to threaten the lower echelon of the intercollegiate squash ladder and move up through the ranks. The men's team has had the assistance of several Indian and Pakistani students while the women's team drew heavily from New England.
Hannah Todd ’95 and Rich Miller ’95 were among the players solidifying the team's improvement in the 1992-95 period. The women won the "D" Division of the Howe Cup, which later became known as the Epps Division, in 1996.
Sean Sloane became the coach of both programs--as well as of men's tennis -- in 1997. In 2003, the women's team defeated Franklin & Marshall for the first time to win the unofficial Centennial Conference championship. The women's team also qualified five members for WISA Scholar-Athlete honors and received the Chaffee Award for outstanding team sportsmanship at the Howe Cup.
The 2012-13 squad rallied past Tufts University, 6-3, on the final day of the College Squash Association (CSA) 2013 Women's National Team Championships to earn the E Division title.
During the 2013-14 season, Haverford repeated at the CSA Women's National Team Championships with its second straight E Division title. Throughout the season, the Fords compiled an overall record of 9-10, the most wins in a single season in program history. Haverford won its second straight E Division title with a convincing 9-0 victory over Colgate in the finals.
The 2015-16 season saw the women’s team again garner the Chafee Award, given to the coach whose team best demonstrates the qualities of sportsmanship, teamwork, character, and improvement. Nationally regarded as a top 30 team in the College Squash Association rankings in recent history, the Fords will look to continue their ascent up the standings in the coming seasons.
The addition of five new international courts in the Gardner '83 Integrated Athletic Center in 2005 has helped the Haverford's squash teams enjoy continued success. Haverford continues to maintain a heavy travel schedule to meet the best small-college teams in the East, and some of the larger colleges and universities as well.