Somewhere in the athletic realm between NCAA-sanctioned varsity sports and club sports lies Virginia squash. While officially of club status, both the men's and women's squads compete almost entirely against varsity competition and, like most clubs at the University, without the luxury of coaching or any more than a small stipend from the administration.
Collegiate squash is governed by the College Squash Association and isn't recognized by the NCAA as a varsity sport. This status makes for some unique matchups when club teams are able to compete with varsity programs that are run as if they were NCAA sanctioned. The CSA regulates this disparity by dividing teams into five separate tiers for nationals each year. Squash is most often likened to racquetball, but most players are quick to point out the many differences. Squash is played at a much faster pace, and the balls, racquets and courts are all different. Points are counted much like volleyball, when you score if your opponent makes a mistake on your serve. Matches are played best of five games with each game played to nine points. Team competitions are best of nine individual matches.
The men's team went to nationals for the first time two years ago and was champion of the lowest of the five competitive tiers while finishing the season ranked No.34. Last season, the team moved their way up to the fourth tier, and although they didn't come away with the title, they finished at a school-best No.28 nationally.
"The first year we went to nationals we were in the lowest division, and we won really easily," senior co-captain John Swain said.
"We definitely have a chance to win the fourth division [this year]," fellow senior captain Santiago Falconi added.
While the men's team will look to take a step forward this year, the women's team is just looking to take its first as an official club.
Operating from the men's team last season and without any real competition or organization before their first trip to nationals, the women's team still came together and finished No.29 in the country.
"I e-mailed people being like, 'Come to nationals, it'll be a fun weekend away,'" sophomore captain Mary Whelan said. "We got eight girls to come up, and it worked out really well. ... Everyone kind of bonded once we got there."
This season the women's club should be far more competitive than a typical first-year program. Two incoming freshmen, Christine Montgomery and Sarah Hawkins, were nationally ranked juniors, and Whelan is optimistic that several players who also were ranked in high school will now join the team. Those additions to a squad that returns juniors Pam Brown and Lydia Long, No.2 and No.4 in last year's lineup, as well as sophomores Tori Lockhart, who played at No.5, and the No.1 Whelan make the team look like anything but a group that is new to the club circuit.
Even with all of the apparent upside, both squads do face some limitations beyond lack of coaching and funding, the main being a place to play at home.
"The closest place with a lot of squash courts is the Naval Academy," Swain said. "What we usually do is piggyback off of their matches."
Even if the teams have the chips stacked against them, they are still highly optimistic, and if nothing else, they're having a good time.
"We always have a lot of fun," Falconi said. "It's always a great experience."
If that's the worst case scenario, there should be no worries about the future of club squash at Virginia.
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