Men's Squash and Tennis Coach's Newsletter #2
Newsletter #4
All,
It is always with a sense of heaviness that I email you at this
time of year.
While there is always exciting news to share about the amazing
accomplishments of these young people, they will soon be
leaving us and the campus, if not just for the summer, than for
their commencement into their new lives. We faculty, have
such an opportunity to oversee these exciting four years, and to
really develop lifetime mentorships, and relationships, but sadly
for several of them, it will now have to be on the other end of an
email or phone call. We pray for them that life will be full,
exciting, and challenging. We pray that they will rise to the
challenge, and use the tools that they honed whilst here to make
the world a better place. We pray that they will learn to
give more than they take, and to always remember their parents,
their families, their friends, and those of us who will be cheering
for them from the sidelines of their lives.
The tennis team finished the year with a 12-5 record, and a national ranking in the top 20! They battled every team, and always left their opponents and spectators with a sense of respect for the fact that while they were not always the most talented team on court, they were always the team that emptied the gas tank in battle. I cannot express to you how very proud I was of these boys.
In addition to their on the court exploits, the tennis team was the NUMBER ONE ranked team academically of all the teams at Trinity! This with a cumulative 3 65 GPA. In no small part led by our captain Gautam Samarth who was all nescac, ECAC scholar Athlete, Sport Illustrated scholar athlete and the number two student in the senior class with a GPA of 4.1
The squash team did it again! Number 11 for consecutive national championships, 202 consecutive wins, the longest win streak of any sport at any college in America in history! We battled to a 5-4 win at Jadwin Gymnasium, at Princeton University and this was far and away the most dramatic comeback we have ever seen! We played for 6 hours and never led! Finally tied it up 4-4 with three players coming back from the edge of the cliff, only to see Baset Chaudhry trail 0-5 in the fifth and deciding game. Somehow 17 minutes later, Baset collapsed in the knowledge that he had won the match for the team. Amazing. Just proving that what you fear owns you, and once it was obvious that we had lost, the fear of losing the streak left our psyche's and we were freed up to fight without reservation. The team then went on to the singles championships where Baset again won the singles championships, we crowned 7 all Americans, and Gustav Detter received the Skillman award which is the Heisman trophy of squash. This spring Gustav was awarded the McCook award as Trinity College's must decorated senior male athlete. What people do not realize is that Baset is carrying a 3.7 gpa, Gustav a 3.8 and graduating #17 in his senior class, and so many more of our boys are excelling in the classroom.
Of course the question is always, "well coach, what about next
year?"
My answer to you for now, is let's celebrate the class of
2009. Two graduating tennis players and 7 graduating squash
players, all of whom leave with a job! We can begin worrying
about next year in September.
Have a wonderful summer full of peace, and love, and if you
happen to be passing through Hartford, know that I will be here
ready to greet you and to share a smile about what a wonderful time
it is to be a member of the Trinity Family.
coach
Newsletter #3
Hello all,
I wanted to wait a day before writing as the doctor was concerned
that my heart rate, post match was at frightening levels.....:)
The boys from Hartford did it again but dear Lord, under the most
extraordinary circumstances. As you remember, we escaped with
a 5-4 victory over Princeton only a week earlier, this on
valentines day. Both teams went back to their respective
facilities and began the work of securing the match for the
championship. Clearly my friend Bob Callahan had the
Tigers convinced that they could do it, and I had our bants
believing the same. We had a good week of practice and off we
went, once again to Princeton.
Our quarter final match was against Dartmouth and we won 9-0 and in
so doing won #200 in a row.
The semifinals were against Harvard, who for years (56
championships) dominated this game. We jumped out early on
them and secured a 9-0 victory.
The finals were started on Sunday at 1 30 pm and a champion was
crowned at 8 pm! The longest match I have ever witnessed.
It became clear to me, very early in the match that Bob had out
prepared our team....he had outcoached me! What a blow to my
pride. His fellows were fit, strong hungry but were playing
differently tactically than they had a week earlier.....darn, we
were ambushed. We were down 1-3 in matches and Parth was down
0-2 in games and 2-7 in points and Gustav was down 0-2 in games and
1-4 in points. We played for 6 hours and never led even
once! Finally we battled back to 4-4 with Baset up 2-1 in
games.
We finally led and it felt that we had stolen yet another
match.....but wait. From 2-1 up in games, Baset lost fourteen
points and only won 2. He was down 0-5 in the fifth and
deciding game to win a national championship. Over the next
ten minutes he pulled himself up in a Herculean effort to win 9-5
and our 11th consecutive national championship. I turned to
one of our players and asked "what just happened" I was numb.
The boys came on the court for the ceremonial exchange of
trophies and there was no elation, just relief, in fact most of our
boys had tears in their eyes. What drama, what brilliant play
by Princeton and what determination and courage by our boys.
It was a shame that someone had to lose on that day, because all
were champions.
Our boys will head off this weekend to play in the singles
championships where Baset will try to defend his crown which he won
over his teammate Gustav last year. The most important
message that I would like to convey and to share with you has to do
with the incredible balance, and character that these boys
show.
Before the finals, there was a awards ceremony, and the scholar
athlete award was given. This to the juniors or seniors who
had above a 3.5 GPA and had played in 75 % of the matches. Of
the 56 teams playing there were 62 recipients. Our Trinity
College had 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In fact the number one
and two ranked players in the country are Trinity boys and scholar
athletes. A fact that should make us all very proud. I
know that I am.
Lastly, our team mom and great cheerleader (Belinda Terry) has
produced and ordered "11" hats. They are very
cool. If you would like to purchase one or more, please send
us your mailing address and 20$ and we will be happy to send you
them.
see you on the courts
coach
Newsletter #2
Dear member of the Bantam Racquets family, I send you this email at the start of the Holiday season. I pray that it finds you healthy and happy and looking forward to an 09 full of only good! The men are wrapping up their exams, and popping into the office looking haggard, and ready to go home or to wherever their travels will take them. Eight of our international players are unable to go home, and will spend this break with me here, and celebrating an old fashioned Christmas Eve at my moms, and Christmas day arm wrestling with young Luke Terry in Bedford. Both events full of love, cheer and far too much food. Starting tomorrow we will welcome approximately 500 youngsters from 20 different countries to Hartford for the US Junior Open. This is a wonderful recruiting tool, and a way to show case our beautiful campus and our city. Hopefully all will play well, and leave full of nothing but good feelings about us.
The boys had a fine first semester, and really shone in the classroom with several players boasting over a 3.5 GPA since their arrival. This is one of the lesser known aspects of our program, but the one that of course we are most proud of. We played three matches in the first semester, and will reunite the first week of January, where we will head to Bogota Colombia as guests of their Olympic committee and for a week of training at altitude. I am most excited about this trip for our guys, as I truly believe that the cultural benefit will serve them well for a lifetime. Of course we were initially uneasy about such an expensive undertaking in this financial time, but since we are guests of the country, and staying with families whilst there, our only cost was airfare which we got at an amazing rate.
The second half of the season will involve some tremendous tests which include dual matches at Harvard and Princeton, and then returning to Princeton for the National Team championships. In addition we need to travel to Rochester and Cornell. Cornell recently beat Harvard 6-3 for the first time in history, and Harvard only barely snuck past Rochester 5-4. Wonderful, challenges for a team which looks forward to the test, and I can assure you that win, or lose these boys will do nothing but make you proud. Please write if there is anything that I/or we can do for you and if you happen to be coming through Hartford, please pop in to say hello. May God Bless you at this time, and may you always have what you need but seldom what you want....as the striving is what makes life worth living. coach
Newsletter #1
Hello Friends of Trinity racquet sports, Fall has come to an end and winter has come roaring in with backhand drives, and court sprints. The fall tennis season was a pleasant surprise! With the loss of Brett Ramsay and Tom Dolan to graduation, we were unsure what the new squad would look like. Having the return of all American, Spencer Feldman, and captains Gautam Samarth (ESPN academic all American) and David Yahng gave us a sense that we would have a solid nucleus. In addition, the return of Nick White, DJ Patrick, and David Dessau, made us feel optimistic. The pleasant surprise however was how solid our freshman class is. Anson McCook, from Miami, Dill Ayres from Long Island and Blake Toder from RI are going to be strong contributors for years to come. This NESCAC league continues to get stronger and stronger, and as a result we are currently ranked 12 in the country and 5th in our league!!!!!!!!!!! Just amazing depth. The tennis team is now engaged in captains practice and conditioning and will remain so until they go back in season on Feb 15, 2009
The squash team enters the 08/09 campaign with guarded enthusiasm Eight of the nine starters return from the team that won the national finals 8-1 last year over a game Princeton. All of that said, Princeton also returns eight of nine and has had one of its finest recruiting years ever. My friend Bob Callahan, has his team perched and ready to pounce and this year we not only go to Princeton for our last dual match of the season, but also for the National Championships. The league seems to be shifting in that while the usual suspects continue to sit atop, Cornell just beat Harvard in the Ivy scrimmage and Rochester is rapidly tearing up the charts! We kicked off the season with our midnight madness in costume tradition and the costumes this year were amazing.
While not all were "PG" most were and showed just how clever and creative our men and women really can be. Practice is going well, and the challenge matches are testing the men's confidence, composure and heart. We are most excited to announce that we will be taking the men's team to Bogota to train at altitude Jan 5-13. This will be quite a trip in that with three of our families being from there, we will get to experience Bogota at its best. In addition the Olympic committee of Colombia will be hosting us and so our team should truly get the red carpet treatment, this while we keep our expenses unbelievably low. Below please find the squash schedule, and attached is a picture from Midnight Madness. Please support these guys as the carry the hopes and pride of this tradition with great humility.
