Assaiante's Trinity Men Ranked Second Entering Opening Weekend
by David Kingsley
November 30, 2012, Hartford, Conn. -The Trinity College men's squash team, which finished the 2011-12 season with an 18-2 record, captured its sixth consecutive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship title, and gained its 16th straight appearance in the College Squash Association (CSA) National Finals before suffering a 5-4 defeat on the road at Princeton to end the year, is ranked No. 2 in the CSA National Pre-Season Poll. The Bantams, coached by Paul Assaiante (19th Season), were ranked No. 2 in the nation in the same poll at the end of last year. The 13-time CSA National Champion Bantams look to contend nationally once again, led by senior co-captains Johan Detter (Malmoe, Sweden) and Reinhold Hergeth (Bloemfontein, South Africa). Trinity opens the 2012-13 campaign at home against Connecticut College on Friday, November 30 at 5 p.m. and will play Drexel and Williams in Williamstown the next day at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively, the next day, before hosting George Washington and Colby on Sunday, December 2 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
Having lost four of the nation’s best-ever collegiate squash players to graduation over the last few seasons, Trinity enters this winter with one of its deepest rosters but looking for people to fill the holes at the top of the lineup. As many as 14 different Bantam could find themselves competing in top-level varsity matches at some point during the season, particularly early as the squad shakes off some pre-season injuries, and five players with less than one year or zero varsity experience are expected to be regular starters. Detter and Hergeth have been solid throughout their respective careers, and Hergeth should jump up to the top-third of the ladder this season after posting a 40-6 record in three seasons including a 16-3 mark in 2011-12. Detter, classmate Juan Flores (San Salvador, El Salvador), and junior Matthew Mackin (Greenwich, Conn.) are also solid returning starters with a combined-career record of 86-19. Mackin set a new Trinity record for wins with 22 last season against just one loss that came in the CSA Singles Semifinals. Fellow seniors Greg Crane (Boston, Mass.) and Juan Diego Lopez (Bogota, Colombia) and sophomores John Lamont (Montreal, Quebec) and Elroy Leong (Selangor, Malaysia) all possess the talent to compete against quality varsity competition.
“I could not be more excited to bring this group of boys to battle,” says Assaiante. “They are confident and hungry and very talented, but the talent is raw and we will have to be patient. My hope is that we improve throughout the course of the year, and are ready when the championship season arrives.”
Sophomore Miled Zarazua (Mexico City, Mexico) played No. 3 as a rookie, and earned All-American honors with a 13-4 record last year. Zarazua will contend for a top spot in the lineup once again, while classmates Vrishab Kotian (Mumbai, India) and Moustafa Hamada (Old Bridge, N.J.) will both benefit from a full season after combining for a 27-6 record as freshmen despite missing the fall semester. Kotian is a fixture in the middle of the Bantam lineup, and Hamada is one of several athletes that give Trinity perhaps the nation’s best bottom third.
Three newcomers will play a major role on the Trinity squad in 2012-13. Juan Carlos Vargas (Bogota, Colombia), the younger brother of four-time Bantam All American and current assistant coach Andres Vargas enters the college having represented his country in multiple top-level international tournaments, while junior transfer Karan Malik (Mumbai, India) should slide smoothly somewhere in the top half after coming to Trinity from Leeds, England. First-year Zayed Elshorafy (Alexandria, Egypt) is an extremely talented player who could start in multiple spots in the lineup throughout the year depending on his development.
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