The squash team finished their season on a high note with the No. 4 team in the nation producing two College Squash Association first team All-Americans.
The team’s No. 1, senior Jim Bristow, has been the physical and mental leader for the squash team over the past four years. This season’s All-American award is Bristow’s fourth of his college career with his freshman year being the only time he earned second team honors.
‘Despite being quite a low-key character, Jim commands tremendous respect as a leader,” head coach Heath Martin said. ‘He helped give the program some credibility, which helped with team spirit and also in recruiting other great players to attend. He is also a great competitor and held the No.1 position for most of the past four years as well as being a four-year captain, both of which may never occur again.”
Sophomore Beni Fischer is quickly making a name for himself in the CSA standings. This season he reached as high as the semifinals in the CSA Individual Championships, which easily earned him All-American honors.
Fischer is now a two-time All-American, and with a couple more years under his belt, he could be one of the best in the world.
‘I think Beni has improved by taking a more attacking frame of mind always looking to find his opponents’ weaknesses rather than playing with just a relatively predictable solid cookie-cutter game,” Martin said. ‘I predict Beni will also be a four-time All-American and may go on to play pro after college, should he wish.”
Both players traveled from overseas for the opportunity to play at a competitive squash college and get a top-notch education. Bristow is from the United Kingdom and Fischer is from Switzerland, which he will represent at the European Championships in the coming weeks.
‘Playing squash not only enabled me to attend a great university in the U.S., but allowed me to meet some amazing people along the way,” Bristow said. ‘Being part of such an international team in an already foreign country has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thefact that we have improved year after year has been an added bonus.”
Manrique is a member of the class of 2012.
