"We will be fairly solid this coming season," said Coach Peter Robson. "If everyone remains healthy, our goal is to move in the rankings from 17th to 9th and win the second division at Nationals."
Returning seven seniors, one junior and four sophomores, the team has the depth needed to accomplish these goals and have a tremendous season. They will, however, miss the strong play of Dave McNeely '00.
McNeely played the top position for the squad, consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally. He is currently trying his luck on the pro circuit.
West will try to fill his shoes at number one, and he looks to be one of the top players in Division III. "Addison has been extremely focused in practice this season. Watching him is really exciting. Over the past year he has improved so much," said Piercarlo Valdesolo '03.
Valdesolo and David Bauer '03 will occupy the number two and three spots on the team. This talented duo is likely to make a dent on the national scene with one year of experience under their belts.
Adding depth to the lineup are Leif Bohman '01, Roger Boulay '03, Dave Breslin '01, John Brody '02, Ashley Ebersole '01, John Holodnak '03 and new rookie phenom Asad Haque '04. Other valuable contributors to the team who have potential are Sujay Desai '01, Jedediah Horwitt '01, Warren Lee '01, Andrew Merle '04, Humayun Shahnawaz '01 and Mark Still '01.
Unfortunately, the Jeffs did not fare as well in their first match as they had hoped. On Monday, they faced off against the University of Cape Town from South Africa.
Amherst was the first stop on Capetown's 12-college tour of the U.S. With Bohman out with an ACL injury and Breslin suffering from the flu, the team struggled and eventually lost 9-0.
"The final score may have been 9-0, but the matches were close. Many went to four or five games; with a little work on conditioning, we should fare much better," said West. Luckily, the loss will not affect the team's national or NESCAC ranking.
Next, the team will face Vassar College in New York, this Wednesday at 7:30. "The Vassar match should be a confidence booster after yesterday's match [against Capetown]," said Coach Robson. "I don't think their team is very strong, and if we all play our games we should win."
Also coming up is a home match against the Tufts University Jumbos. On Dec. 7 last year the Jeffs defeated the Jumbos 8-1, and will look again to dominate.
Combining depth and experience with rising new talent, the Amherst men's squash team has a promising season ahead of them.