(Jan. 2004) The Washington sides won again in the annual Lacy and FitzGerald Cup competitions.  The women won the Lacy with a clean sweep over Baltimore, 10-0, in matches played at the Sports Club/LA, while the men pulled out an 8-5 win at the University Club, in the 56th renewal of the FitzGerald Cup. 

The standard of the matches was generally top notch, but two matches in particular stood out as showcases for the tournament and squash in general. The first saw Baltimore’s Jahangir Naseem stop a rapidly improving junior from Washington  in five games. Naseem appears to have come on in leaps and bounds since moving to Meadow Mill from Potomac, which resulted in a much tougher proposition for his opponent than previous form would have suggested. 

The second memorable match will go down as a classic squash ‘arm wrestle’. The veteran Chip Lindquist, was matched up against college student Jake Himmelrich.  Himmelrich displays near perfect technique and has a mental attitude to match.  He seems destined to develop the physical strength in general play and a reliable kill shot which he requires to become a national standard player.  Despite this, Lindquist would not be denied and hung in for nearly 90 minutes against his focused opponent.  From about the third game on the match was mesmerising, as the ascendancy swung back and forth.

Late in the fifth it was apparent that the fuel tank was empty for Lindquist as his legs began to give and he attempted to keep the ball high and long to slow the play. Himmelrich sought to capitalise with an array of touch boasts which initially appeared as clean winners, but Lindquist dug deep to retrieve nearly every one of them with an unbelievable series of last ditch lunges. Somehow, Lindquist had managed to struggle to have match ball 7 in the fifth.

However, the oxygen debt was clearly playing with Lindquist’s mind as well his body, because in the next rally he overruled the referee on a let call that appeared fair, offering the stroke to Himmelrich. This provided the momentum switch that Himmelrich needed and he eventually prevailed 10-8, so ending a thoroughly memorable match. It was fitting the result was determined in the end by Lindquist’s sportsmanship; a poignant reminder of Ambassador FitzGerald’s legacy.

Among the juniors, the top matches in the under-17 age groups offered the most drama, with both matches going to Baltimore. For the Girls Under 17, Washington's #1, Sarah Nawaz fell behind to Baltimore's Hayley Millbourne 2-0 in games, fought valiantly to win the third game, and then lost a very tight fourth game. At #1 for the Boys Under 17, Peter Sopher opened strong for Washington, winning a very close first game over Baltimore's Colin Campbell, but Campbell came back, picking up two very tight games and pulling away, 9-5, in the fourth. That match lasted an hour and ten minutes, and was marked by many very long points (Peter and Colin are both extraordinary runners) and frequent service exchanges.

It should be noted that this was the fourth FitzGerald Cup Junior Division Match for Alex Gross, Peter and Philip Sopher, Andrea Wood, and Baltimore's John Bradley. It was the third appearance for Jake Gross, Christine Montgomery, Patrick Harris, Mike Maruca, Joseph Powden, and Baltimore's Peter Hawkins and Colin Campbell. All have been mainstays of the Mid-Atlantic Junior Programs. They have traveled together to many tournaments and most went abroad together for training. This summer some will graduate from high school and move out of town to college. They will be missed.

FitzGerald Cup Match Results:
# 1 - Eric Pearson (W) def. Simon Randell (B), 3-1
# 2 - Rod Barnes (W) def. Shahid Khan (B), 3-0
# 3 - Peter Blank (B) def. Ted Mathias (W), 3-0
# 4 - Jacob Himmelrich (B) def. Chip Lindquist (W), 3-2
# 5 - Jahangir Naseem (B) def. David Canner (W), 3-2
# 6 - Ron Del Sesto (W) def. Saj Niazi (B), 3-0
# 7 - Chris Haley (B) def. Tony Maruca (W), 3-0
# 8 - Bryce Harding (W) def. Riaz Arshad (B), 3-0
# 9 - Ross Campbell (W) def. Lissen Tutrone (B), 3-0
#10 - Steve Hufford (W) def. Ron Tutrone (W), 3-0
#11 - Doug Rice (B) def. Al Charbonneau (B), 3-1
#12 - Andrew Strasfogel (W) def. Dennis Burke (B), 3-0
#13 - Jerry Welch (W) def. Bob Evard (B), 3-0

Lacy Cup Match Results:
# 1 - Connie Barnes (W) def. Lizz Everts (B), 3-0
# 2 - Tracy Barnes (W) def. Alex Love (B), 3-0
# 3 - Carole Grunberg (W) def. Beth Fenwick (B), 3-1
# 4 - Sheila Reynolds (W) def. Kathy Connor (B), 3-2
# 5 - Anne Monahan (W) def. Anya McGuirk (B), 3-0
# 6 - Amy Newman (W) def. Louise Warmath (B), 3-0
# 7 - Leslie Connolly (W) def. Katie O'Neil (B), 3-1
# 8 - A.J. Jaffin (B) def. Julie Miller (B), 3-0
# 9 - Donna Sharpe (W) won by default
#10 - Mary Francis Ford (W) won by default

Junior Match Results:
GU11 - Katie Tutrone (B) def. Caroline Sealander (W), 3-0
BU11 - Taylor Tutrone (B) def. Robbie Rasmussen (W), 3-0
BU11 - Foster Hoff (B) def. Campbell Ross (W), 3-0
GU13 - Julia Hemmindinger (B) def. Camilla Nawaz (W), 3-0
BU13 - Joseph Powden (W) def. Eric Milbourn (B), 3-0
BU13 - Chris Holter (B) def. Andy Maruca (W), 3-1
BU13 - Conner McGee (B) def. Ryan Harding (W), 3-0
GU15 - Anne Morrison (B) won by default
GU15 - Peyton Hawkins (B) def. Olivia Sealander (W), 3-0
BU15 - Mike Maruca (W) def. Greg Funk (B), 3-0
BU15 - Alex Gross (W) def. Mac Ober (B), 3-0
GU17 - Hayley Millbourne (B) def. Sarah Nawaz (W), 3-1
GU17 - Amelia Sagoff (W) def. Liza Lacy (B), 3-0
BU17 - Colin Campbell (B) def. Peter Sopher (W), 3-1
BU17 - Philip Sopher (W) def. Peter Hawkins (B), 3-0
GU19 - Christine Montgomery (W) def. Sarah Hawkins (B), 3-0
GU19 - Andrea Wood (W) def. Allison Lacy (B), 3-0
BU19 - Jake Gross (W) def. John Bradley (B), 3-0
BU19 - Patrick Harris (W) def. Tyler Merbler (B), 3-0

Jim Zug at Politics & Prose
(Oct. 19, 2003)
James Zug drew an enthusiastic crowd of 70 to Politics & Prose Bookstore, on Connecticut Ave., for a reading from his new book, Squash: A history of the game. With a forward by the late George Plimpton, the book covers all aspects of the game and has been praised in The New Yorker and Wall Street Journal and on NPR. An appendix lists tournament winners, including the Woodruff-Nee.

Washington Gets a Clean Sweep in Baltimore

(Jan. 2003) The men and women of Washington, and their junior counterparts, all won stunning victories at Baltimore's Meadow Mill Club on Jan. 4th. The men, competing in the 55th renewal of the FitzGerald Cup challenge, beat Baltimore 8-5, while the women took the inaugural Lacy Cup, 8-2. Both challenges were played out on the five courts of Meadow Mill's main hallway, with the men using three courts on one side of the room, and the women using the two courts on the other side. Meanwhile, the juniors were playing at the Baltimore Country Club, with Washington winning, 11-5.

The FitzGerald Cup competition was much closer than the 8-5 score would suggest. The Washington team often does well at the bottom of the ladder only to lose the Cup when the top of the ladder is played. This year the Washingtonians took a 6-3 lead, needing to win only one of the top four matches to secure the Cup, but then promptly lost two quick matches to a pair of rapidly improving Baltimore juniors. Francis Johnson swept the #4 match over Terry Hindermann. Then Jacob Himmelrich, who last year was summarily dismissed in three games by Chip Lindquist at #5, moved up to #3 this year and beat Rod Barnes, 3-1. At #2, Ted Mathias fell behind Baltimore's Peter Blank, two games to one, making it look like Washington's last hope might be Neal Tew at #1. However, Mathias stormed back to capture the Cup with a 5-game win over Blank, and Tew finished with a 3-0 win over Dave Bennett.

Similarly, the Lacy Cup could easily have gone to Baltimore if they had managed to pull out the three matches that went to five games. Instead, all three went to the Washington players, Tracy Barnes beating Anna Minkowski after dropping the first two games at #2, Liz Arens beating Kathy Connor at #4 and A.J.Jaffin getting the win over Laurie Miller at #10.

FitzGerald Cup Match Results:
# 1 - Neal Tew (W) def. Dave Bennett (B), 3-0 (10-8, 9-1, 9-3)
# 2 - Ted Mathias (W) def. Peter Blank (B), 3-2 (7-9, 9-6, 8-10, 9-3, 9-1)
# 3 - Jacob Himmelrich (B) def. Rod Barnes (W), 3-1
# 4 - Francis Johnson (B) def. Terry Hindermann (W), 3-0
# 5 - Chip Lindquist (W) def. Doug Hoffberger (B), 3-0
# 6 - Mohab Murrar (W) def. Chris Macon (B), 3-1
# 7 - Riaz Arshad (B) def. Ron Del Sesto (W), 3-1
# 8 - Dirck Bartlett (B) def. Keith Grassick (W), 3-2
# 9 - Steve Hufford (W) def. Harry Gruner (B), 3-2
#10 - Todd Garliss (B) def. Ross Campbell (W), 3-1
#11 - Bruce Simons-Morton (W) def. Brian Swanson (B), 3-1
#12 - Andrew Strasfogel (W) def. Dennis Burke (B), 3-0
#13 - Jerry Welch (W) def. Gerd Petrich (B), 3-0

Lacy Cup Match Results:
# 1 - Connie Barnes (W) def. Lizz Everts (B), 3-1
# 2 - Tracy Barnes (W) def. Anna Minkowski (B), 3-2
# 3 - Carole Grunberg (W) def. Alex Love (B), 3-0
# 4 - Liz Arens (W) def. Kathy Connor (B), 3-2
# 5 - Elizabeth DuPree (W) def. Teresa O'Keefe (B), 3-1
# 6 - Sheila Reynolds (W) def. Kendall Anders (B), 3-1
# 7 - Anne Monahan (W) def. Ashley Campbell (B), 3-1
# 8 - Corey Warfield (B) def. Marcia Salovitz (W), 3-0
# 9 - Louise Warmath (B) def. Donna Sharpe (W), 3-0
#10 - A.J. Jaffin (W) def. Laurie Miller (B), 3-2

Junior Match Results:
BU11 - Joseph Powden (W) def. Brad Schuler (B), 3-0
GU13 - Hillary Ottenritter (B) def. Kerry Garikes (W), 3-0
BU13 - Andy Maruca (W) def. Slater Ottenritter (B), 3-0
BU13 - Eric Milbourn (B) def. Ryan Harding (W), 3-0
GU15 - Hayley Milbourn (B) def. Sarah Nawaz (W), 3-0
GU15 - Libbie Brown (B) def. Molly Shaw (W), 3-0
BU15 - Philip Sopher (W) def. Peter Hawkins (B), 3-0
BU15 - Mike Maruca (W) def. Zach Bradley (B), 3-0
GU17 - Andrea Wood (W) def. Betsy Griffin (B), 3-0
GU17 - Helen Snodgrass (W) def. Allison Lacy (B), 3-0
BU17 - Peter Sopher (W) def. Colin Campbell (B), 3-0
BU17 - Jake Gross (W) def. John Bradley (B), 3-0
GU19 - Christine Montgomery (W) def. Kendall Anders (B), 3-0
GU19 - Ashley Campbell (B) def. Misa Brettschneider (W), 3-1
BU19 - Patrick Harris (W) def. Brett Luskin (B), 3-0
BU19 - Tony Maruca (W) def. Will Reinhoff (B), 3-1

Washington Wins 54th FitzGerald Cup

(Jan. 2002) Washington's FitzGerald Cup team reclaimed the 54-year-old silver cup on Jan. 5th, winning four of five matches at the University Club and splitting the eight matches played at Results the Gym. The 8-5 win was an exact reversal of last year's 5-8 loss at Baltimore's Meadow Mill Club. Overall, Washington holds a 35-19 edge in the history of the cup. In the junior flight, Baltimore prevailed 7-5. Following the squash, the two teams gathered at the home of Amb. William H.G. FitzGerald, to celebrate. Except where indicated, all matches were played at Results the Gym on Capital Hill.

Adult Match Results:
# 1 - Jamie White (W) def. Dave Bennett (B), 3-0 (at the University Club)
# 2 - Ted Mathias (W) def. Riaz Arshad (B), 3-0 (at the University Club)
# 3 - Peter Blank (B) def. Terry Hindermann (W), 3-1 (at the University Club)
# 4 - Shahid Khan (W) def. Greg Mathis (B), 3-0 (at the University Club)
# 5 - Chip Lindquist (W) def. Jacob Himmelrich (B), 3-0 (at the University Club)
# 6 - Chris Makin (B) def. Ron Delsesto (W), 3-0 (9-4, 9-4, 9-5)
# 7 - Doug Hoffberger (B) def. Bryce Harding (W), 3-2 (9-10, 4-9, 9-2, 9-5, 9-4)
# 8 - Ross Campbell (W) def. Jon Minkowski (B), 3-0 (9-5, 9-4, 9-1)
# 9 - Chris Haley (B) def. Steve Hufford (W), 3-2 (2-9, 1-9, 9-3, 9-0, 9-7)
#10 - John Lindquist (B) def. Jim Dougherty (W), 3-0 (9-2, 9-0, 9-1)
#11 - Anjum Qazi (W) def. Dennis Burke (B), 3-0 (9-3, 9-4, 9-2)
#12 - Andrew Strasfogel (W) def. Brian Swanson (B), 3-2 (9-5, 3-9, 9-4, 7-9, 9-4)
#13 - Jerry Welch (W) def. Bill Rice (B), 3-0 (9-3, 9-6, 9-7)

Junior Match Results:
GU11 - Hilary Ottenritter (B) def. Lindsay McDonnough (W), 3-0 (9-0, 9-1, 9-0)
GU13 - Peyton Hawkins (B) def. Marissa Potter (W), 3-1 (9-4, 9-7, 6-9, 9-4)
BU13 - Slater Ottenritter (B) def. Joseph Powden (W), 3-2 (9-0, 6-9, 9-0, 4-9, 9-3)
BU13 - Nick Echeverria (W) def. Eric Milbourn (B), 3-0 (9-1, 9-0, 9-5)
GU15 - Andrea Wood (W) def. Hayley Milbourn (B), 3-1 (8-10, 9-6, 9-3, 9-6)
GU15 - Libbie Brown (B) def. Katie Kelley (W), 3-0 (9-6, 9-7, 9-5)
BU15 - Philip Sopher (W) def. John Bradley (B), 3-0 (9-4, 9-0, 9-3)
BU15 - Colin Campbell (B) def. Peter Sopher (W), 3-2 (2-9, 0-9, 9-6, 9-0, 9-1)
GU17 - Christine Montgomery (W) def. Ashley Campbell (B), 3-0 (9-2, 9-4, 9-1)
GU17 - Sarah Hawkins (B) def. Margaret Sopher (W), 3-0 (9-0, 9-2, 9-2)
BU17 - David Canner (W) def. Brett Luskin (B), 3-0 (9-5, 9-1, 9-1)
BU17 - Will Reinhoff (B) def. Jake Gross (W), 3-0 (10-9, 10-8, 9-3)

Baltimore Wins 53rd FitzGerald Cup

(Dec. 2000) After a year in Washington, the FitzGerald cup is going back to Baltimore. Technically, the 53-year-old silver cup will still reside in Washington, where it is safely protected in a locked case at the University Club, but title now belongs to Baltimore, following Saturday's 8-5 victory over the visitors from Washington. All the matches were played on the international courts at Meadow Mill Athletic Club.

The Washington team started strong, winning five of the first six matches, but the hosts came back strong, sweeping the top of the card. Washington had their best chances for upsets at #3 and #6, where the University Club's Terry Hindermann and Jonathan Lam of Chevy Chase each took 2-1 leads before losing in five games.

Despite the setback, the Washington team still holds an overall 34-19 edge in the history of the challenge cup, which was inaugurated in 1948 in honor of Ambassador William FitzGerald, one of the fathers of Washington squash.

This year's event also saw the first juniors competition, with six matches played at the Baltimore Country Club. The Washington team took a 5-1 win, the only loss coming in the last match, when 13-year-old Andrea Wood played up an age category, unsuccessfully challenging Baltimore's very talented Katie Peck, aged 16.

Adult Match Results:

Junior Match Results:

League Players Are Missing from the Membership Rolls

(Dec. 2000) A detailed review of NCSRA membership reveals that only 98 of the 194 players who have participated in league squash during the first few weeks of the winter season are current NCSRA members, and many of these memberships will expire before the season ends. (See the list of current members on our Membership page.) Since the local SRA receives $15 out of every $40 membership payment, the missing memberships represent a potential loss of more than $1,400 in annual revenues, which could significantly reduce the NCSRA's ability either to promote junior squash or to support other activities, like the season-ending players' tournaments or this web site.

Players in the A League appear to be the most supportive of the NCSRA. Twenty out of 33 active A players (61%) have current memberships. The only other league with a majority of players on the current list is the D League, with 35 of 59 players enrolled (59%). Technically, league rules stipulate that only NCSRA members are eligible to play in league matches, and matches played by ineligible players will be forfeit, but this rule has not been enforced yet during the winter season.

The only teams that have used eligible players in every match this season are the Washington Sports Club A team, the University Club A and C teams, and the D teams from Bethesda and Chevy Chase. On the other hand, one team in the B League and four in the C League have not used any eligible players in any of their matches.

Hot Squash at the NCSRA Board Meeting

(Dec. 2000) Trying to get a good turnout for its November board meeting, the NCSRA sponsored a special exhibition match on the University Club's new ASB court. England's Mark Allen took on Jeff Osborne of Adelaide, Australia, and won in three straight games, 15-11, 15-11 and 15-5, using his experience and superior court sense to take away the speed and reach advantage of the much younger Osborne.

Ben Harris, USSRA National Director of Officials, refereed the match, using American point-a-rally scoring. The ploy worked for the board meeting, producing the best turnout in recent memory.

Allen is the new Potomac School varsity squash coach. He has been coaching squash for over ten years and recently became the first coach in the U.K. to be selected for the new “Level IV Elite” status established by England's Squash Racquets Association. (The SRA intend to eventually certify up to 15 coaches at this level.)

Mark spent three seasons on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world tour, achieving at one point a world ranking of 41, with a win in the 1992 Rochester Open and 2nd-place finishes in the 1992 Chicago Open and Minneapolis Open and the 1997 Swiss Open. He also finished 4th in the 1990 World Junior Championships and captained the English team that won the World Under-19 title that year.

Australian Jeff Osborne, the resident squash pro at Baltimore's Meadow Mill Squash Club, is only 20 years old, so he hasn't had much time to rack up impressive credentials. Nevertheless, he did reach the semi-finals of the Australian national championships in his age group last year, and he was the runner-up in the Maryland state championships this summer.

When he came to the U.S. a year ago, Jeff registered with the PSA, and has been steadily pushing his world ranking up. It now stands at 155, up from 186 in September thanks to a good finish at the Motor City Open.

NCSRA Rules Under Review

(Dec. 2000) At its November meeting, the NCSRA Board of Directors took another step toward revising its seriously outdated league rules – establishing an executive committee under Hunt Richardson to review proposed changes. Specific actions placed before the committee were a plan to require referees for all league matches beginning next summer (expanding a program launched in the D League last summer), and a proposal to require that all league players obtain an official skill level rating (SLR).

A survey of other SRAs that operate city leagues reveals that requiring ratings for league players is not at all unusual. In Rochester, N.Y., according to the November issue of Squash Magazine, “all players must have a USSRA Skill Level Rating, either estimated from the SquashRochester ladder or obtained from USSRA verifiers Mark Banford or Fred Weymuller.”

In Seattle. although official SLRs are not required, all players are ranked at the beginning of the season, and players are assigned to leagues according to their ranking. In Indianapolis, which has only one certified ratings verifier in the city, players are not required to have specific SLRs, but the one rater does assign a skill level (A, B or C) to every player at the start of the season. (There is no D League in Indianapolis.) In Boston, the league coordinators are responsible for ranking up to 15 players at the end of each season and designating specific players to move up to the next level for the next season.

Several questions remain about how to implement such a rule in the Washington area, where there are five officially certified verifiers. One specific question is how to deal with the small fee that a player normally pays to be rated by an official verifier.

NCSRA Board Adopts New League Rules

(May 2001) The NCSRA Board of Directors has approved revised rules for league play. At a May 23rd, 2001, meeting in the University Club, the Board unanimously adopted revised rules that had been circulated over the internet to a review committee established in April. The new rules take effect immediately, so they will govern play during the summer season that is scheduled to start the first week of June.