ByGeorge! Online

Nov. 19, 2002

Squashing the Competition

The George Washington University Serves Up a New Pair of Varsity Teams — Men’s and Women’s Squash

By Brian Krause

Behind the glass doors of the enclosed courts on the second floor of the Health and Wellness Center, student athletes play a game that appears to be an intense version of tennis.

Although they use a racket and a ball, they are not playing tennis.
Unlike tennis, with its royal ancestry, squash is a game that originated in the dank dungeon of Fleet Prison in London around 1820. Calling their game “rackets,” inmates discovered that they could get exercise and stay in shape by hitting a ball against the walls, which there were plenty of, instead of over a net.

The game of rackets began to spread, and by an unusual turn of events found its way to Harrow, and other English boarding schools. There, students discovered that by puncturing the racket ball, it would “squash” on impact with the wall, and would make the game more unpredictable and require much more physical effort by the player.

Almost 200 years later, squash has evolved into an international phenomenon that is played in 135 nations, with over 47,000 squash courts worldwide. A popular sport mostly concentrated in New England and the Ivy Leagues, it has now found a permanent home at GW with the introduction of both a men’s and women’s squad.

Making her coaching debut is Sarah West, who will lead the women’s team in its inaugural season, bringing with her a lifetime of playing experience. West first began playing squash when she was only seven years old, and went on to earn four letters at Dartmouth College, where she served as team captain her senior year and was named first team All-Ivy in 2001 and 2002.

“Squash is one of the only sports where the better you get at it, the harder it becomes,” says West. “At higher levels, the ball moves faster, points are scored faster, you have to be in better shape, you need to have better racket precision, and you need better touch.”

With no women’s squash program in existence, West was faced with the challenge of creating a varsity NCAA team from scratch — the first time this had ever been attempted at GW.

“It was difficult to recruit because I came in to an empty desk and a phone,” says West. “I had to do a lot of research because it is such a small culture here.”

Not only did West check the high school scouting reports, but she also recruited players at the Health and Wellness Center squash courts. By holding the team practice on public courts, she hopes the exposure will peak curiosity among student spectators.

“I want to raise the enthusiasm of the girls in the sport and make them more interested in picking it up,” says West. “Squash is still a foreign term on this campus.”

Although the women’s team needed to be built from the ground up, there was already a strong men’s squash club on campus to draw experienced players from for a varsity squad.

At the helm of the men’s team for its inaugural season is Simon Harrington, a GW alumnus who graduated in 1996 with a bachelor of arts in journalism. A seasoned tennis and squash pro, Harrington was a member of the club squash team during his four years at GW and is a certified United States Professional Tennis Association and United States Tennis Registry instructor.

“The team’s greatest strength is the comradery. They’ve been very good and they really enjoy each other,” says Harrington. “They even organized a steak dinner the night before the first match.”

Currently ranked 34th, Harrington hopes to break into the top 25 this season and earn a position in a better division. He expects that the infusion of young talent on the team will help bring the squad success.

“We have some freshmen that will go a long way toward achieving our goals,” says Harrington. “When we play competitive matches, I expect them to be able to pull them off. When we’re evenly matched, I expect they will win.”

One player anticipated to be instrumental this season is freshman Greg Vernick, who is listed by the College Squash Association as a “Freshman to Watch.”

From West Roxbury, MA, Vernick began playing squash as a freshman in high school while in search of a winter sport to play besides hockey. The squash program was an important consideration when choosing to come to GW, says Vernick, because he was not going to go to a school without one.

“I just want to get better this season,” says Vernick. “But it’s going to be hard. I want to get in the best shape I can, play as well as I can, and hopefully stay on this list.”

While the men have already started competitive play, the women’s squad will continue to practice until the start of its season in January. However, due to zoning restrictions on the Health and Wellness Center, there are no home games scheduled.

“Our biggest challenge is not getting injured with squash being such a physical sport,” adds Harrington. “After only one month of practice and one match, everyone on the team is already feeling the abuse.”

 

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