Courtesy of UR Athletics
This past weekend, UR men’s squash sent four athletes to compete in a doubles tournament in Philadelphia, Pa. The two teams consisted of senior Neil Cordell paired with junior Mario Yanez and junior Christian Riedelsheimer playing with sophomore Ben Pitfield.
The team of Cordell and Yanez managed to coast through the preliminary rounds into the finals, not dropping a single game in the process. In the finals, the duo seemed to have the tournament locked up—leading two games to none—but were not able to close out against Navy’s top team and lost in five games.
Riedelsheimer and Pitfield were able to advance to the quarterfinals, but they met their match against the future champions from Navy.
Rochester had won the title last year; this year, it is the only doubles tournament on the Yellowjackets’ schedule. It is relatively atypical for the team to play doubles squash, and they must train on alternative courts other than the set in the Palestra due to size.
Moving forward, the team will send a select squad to the Price Bullington Invitational in Richmond, Va. prior to the first match of the season. This tournament is anticipated to be loaded with depth and contain some of the best individual players in the nation. After this tournament, the team has approximately one month off prior to the first match of the season. The opening match will be played at Drexel University on Dec. 4.
Expectations for the ‘Jackets this season are definitely high. After finishing fifth the past two years at the Potter Cup but beating the top team of the nation, Trinity College, in the regular season, it’s clear that they are extremely capable of doing exceptionally well.
The team’s roster consists of four All-Americans who many argue may be the best four in the nation. The ‘Jackets suffered minimal effects due to graduation, and the team’s new players will only add to its depth. It is very feasible that the team will reach NCAA finals and match or even increase the number of UR players recognized as All-Americans by the College Squash Association.
Kuhrt is a member of the class of 2017.
