Sports: Squash
Squash Captures Second Straight Conroy Cup
A trip north turned Rochester squash team’s season around, and it ended
up leading to another national championship.
The Yellowjackets started their 2005–06 season with a series of disappointing
losses and, as a result, dropped out of the top 25. But in mid-January, first-year
coach Martin Heath took them to Toronto, where they participated in some friendly
matches with Canadian teams and watched an international squash competition.
The change of scenery proved to be a turning point: Rochester started to reel
off wins, including three at the Collegiate Squash Association championships
February 18 and 19, when the Yellowjackets repeated as Conroy Division champs.
“The guys did really well in the second half of the season,” Heath
says. “Everything came together at the right time.”
At the championships, Rochester got big performances from its No. 1 player,
Patrick Harris ’08, who says Heath worked on technique and fitness with
the team all season—work that eventually paid off.
“We started off kind of weak, but the team got stronger and we started
winning matches against tough competition,” he says.
Prospects for the future are even brighter: Most of this year’s squad
will return next season, and the team will add some highly prized recruits as
well.
Heath’s goal for 2006–07? Become the No. 1 team in Division III.
“I think there will be exponential growth for us,” he says.
—Ryan Whirty
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