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US Squash as an entity has its roots back to Philadelphia in 1904, which stemmed from the widespread need of athletes to put together a newly emerging sport. With the development of this new sport, US Squash was initially referred to as the United States Squash Racquets Association up until 2006, as it later turned out to be the first national squash body all over the world.
US Squash decided to take action immediately in order to give rules to the sport creating regulations that served to determine practically everything from the type of court to the ball specifics, as well as the rules and guidelines of the game.
History of squash in colleges in the USA
As the years rolled by and the sport grew in status, US Squash has produced on-demand for board positions needing to expand and also hiring full-time executives.
By the late 1950s, US college squash had graduated from its initial position to organizing the sport, as it started promoting its growth with the introduction of the junior and senior nationals at colleges.
Squash was seen as a major sport at the time, and US College Squash was one of the mediums through which national athletic organizations were able to encourage the participation of the female gender. In the early 1970s, the United States Women’s Squash Racquets Association (USWSRA) was officially formed as the primary governing body of Women’s squash.
US Squash and the USWSRA were able to work hand in hand until the organizations later came together in 1979. All this was in a bid to support the sport, and thus it became a more influential advocate for the game.
The Top Squash Colleges in the States
Men’s Varsity
Trinity
The Trinity Bantams men’s squash team, as they are fondly known as, has the record for the longest unbeaten streak that can be found in any intercollegiate sport in the history of the nation. On January 18, 2012, Trinity had their 252-game unbeaten streak ended in a 5–4 loss when they played the Yale Bulldogs.
The Bantams had also won about 13 consecutive national titles starting from the year 1999 when they first went home with the Potter Trophy.
Trinity has won all 13 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships from the time the tournament had been established.
They have also received a lot of praise, admiration, and attention from major media outlets such as USA Today, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated, among others. They have recently been ranked by ESPN as one of the top ten sports outfits of all time.
Harvard
The Harvard Crimson men’s squash team, as it is popularly called, is the intercollegiate men’s squash team for Harvard University, which is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This team regularly competes in the Ivy League, which can be seen in the College Squash Association.
It is also regarded as the second oldest squash team in the country, which is only after Yale. Harvard squash is arguably the most prestigious program in the country. The men’s team has won 32 national championships and 43 Ivy League titles and has had 37 individual national champions.
Women’s Varsity
Harvard
Since the year 2007, they’ve been fortunate to win about six individual national championships. This year was the first time since 1995 that both the Harvard teams swept the team and individual national championships. It all adds to the legacy of winning in both programs.
The women’s team has won 19 national championships and 23 Ivy League titles and has had 18 individual national champions.
In the space of the last five years, the women’s squash team has been able to wrap up five straight national championships, plus four Ivy League titles, as well as three individual national championships, and this was achieved while going undefeated for about 65 consecutive team matches. This streak can be traced far back as 2015.
Princeton
The women’s team has won 17 CSA National Titles (Howe Cups), as well as winning 3 consecutive national titles starting from the year 2007 till 2009. Most of Princeton championships were achieved in the 1970’s winning 7 of the first 8 national championships.
Trinity
The women’s team has won three CSA National titles (Howe Cups), as well as back-to-back victories in the year 2002 and 2003. Some eleven years after they won the first two championships, the Trinity women were again able to reach the pinnacle of the college game with another Howe Cup victory in 2014.
Alongside the three titles, the Trinity women’s team has finished as a Howe Cup finalist in about four different times.
In the 34 seasons before this year, the women’s teams have been able to produce fabulous results consistently; winning matches that were about 80 percent of the time (406-109 overall record) and thus earning all 13 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships from the time the tournament had been established.
Trinity, which has won all the 13 NESCAC Women’s Squash titles, has occupied the top seed for the 13th year in a row, as they hosted the tournament for the ninth time in the year 2019. The Bantams went into the 2019 championship as the top seed and comfortable boasted a record of 12-2.
Top Colleges by Championships
Men's Team (Potter Cup)
All Time Leaders
Colleges | Number of Championships |
Harvard University | 32 |
Trinity College | 17 |
Yale University | 13 |
Princeton University | 11 |
US Naval Academy | 3 |
Last Two Decades from year 2000 – 2019
Colleges | Number of Championships |
Trinity College | 16 |
Harvard University | 2 |
Yale University | 1 |
Princeton University | 1 |
Women's Team (Howe Cup)
All Time Leaders
Colleges | Number of Championships |
Harvard University | 19 |
Princeton University | 17 |
Yale University | 7 |
Trinity College | 3 |
University of Pennsylvania | 1 |
Last Two Decades from year 2000 – 2019
Colleges | Number of Championships |
Harvard University | 9 |
Yale University | 4 |
Trinity College | 3 |
Princeton University | 3 |
University of Pennsylvania | 1 |
