Trinity Men's Squash Looks to Repeat as National Champions in 2015-16
by David Kingsley

November 29, 2015 - Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College men's squash team, coached by Paul Assaiante (22nd Season), is ranked No. 1 in the 2015-16 College Squash Association (CSA) Men's Pre-Season National Poll. The Bantams reached the 2014-15 CSA National Championship Finals (Potter Trophy) for the 19th consecutive season, knocking off St. Lawrence, 7-2, to win their 15th national title. The Bantams also captured their ninth consecutive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship crown in February and finished team competition with an 20-1 overall record. Trinity opens the season on Saturday, December 5, against Bates and Bowdoin.

"We saw a great senior class graduate from the College in May," said Assaiante.  "This year, our inexperience will certainly be a factor and there will be bumps in the road early, but we hope to be among the top four teams or so contending at Nationals in the end."

Trinity will rely mainly on the experience of younger players after losing nine seniors who combined to go 81-24 last year in dual match play. The Bantams are led by its co-captains, senior Juan Vargas (Bogota, Colombia) and junior Afeeq Ismail (Kuching, Malaysia) this winter. Ismail led the team with 24 wins, winning the Molloy "B" division title at the CSA National Singles Championship last season. Vargas returns as the only senior from the Bantams starting nine last year, and should play somewhere in the top half of the ladder after his 12-4 dual-match record which helped earn him 2015 CSA All-American honors.

Sophomore Rick Penders (Maastricht, Netherlands) will look to build off an impressive freshman campaign that saw him finish tied for second on the team with 19 victories earn CSA All-American recognition. Penders finished the year as the No. 9 ranked men's squash player in the country by CSA and was a 3-0 victor in the No. 3 matchup in the National Championship Finals. Sophomore James Evans (Maidstone, England) was named the team MVP after compiling a 19-0 record in dual-match play, highlighted by a heroic come-from-behind, 3-2 victory in the No. 7 matchup against St. Lawrence in the title match.  Fellow sophomore Omar Allaudin (Lahore, Pakistan) won 12 matches last year and was undefeated in dual-match action.

The Bantams also bring in a host of rookies that will look to make immediate contributions this year. Michael Craig (Belfast, Ireland) will compete for a spot at the top of the lineup, while Tor Christofferson (Malmoe, Sweden), Tom De Mulder (Gent, Belgium), Mudit Pantt (Uttar Pradesh, India) and Nku Patrick (San Fernando, Trinidad) will also have an impact right away.  Senior Derick Buffum (Cohasset, Mass.), junior Nick Giacco (Wilmington, Del.) and sophomore Jake Lord (Rumson, N.J.) are among the top veterans also competing for sports while providing exemplary leadership and guidance to this young group.