December 9, 2005

Shaila Pandole

Lori Stump

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith squash team is 13th in the latest College Squash Association national rankings, the highest the program has reached in the polls in the program’s eight varsity seasons. The Herons posted their best record, 15-5, last season, and finished the year 15th in the nation, the previous high-water mark.

“This is, unquestionably, the strongest and deepest team we’ve ever had here,” Head Coach Chip Fishback said. “It brings to mind that old advertising phrase, ‘We’ve come a long way, baby,’ as I can remember our first season when we didn’t have a single player who’d ever played before and lost to every team except one. The scary thing is that we might be even better next year.”

The 2005-06 William Smith squash team is 7-1 overall. Earlier this year, the Herons successfully defended their Liberty League Championship, breezing through the field with a 3-0 record by winning 25 of 27 individual matches. William Smith student-athletes have been named the conference performer of the week and rookie of the week in each of the three weeks the league has presented the awards.

Five Herons are unbeaten this season, led by junior Shaila Pandole (Jai Hind College/Mumbai, India) and first-year Lori Stump (Shady Side Academy/Pittsburgh, Pa.). Both Pandole and Stump are 8-0 at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Pandole has won 10 consecutive matches dating back to the 2004-05 season.

William Smith is off until after the semester break. The Herons return to action on Jan. 21, when they host the University of Toronto in the Smith Squash Center.

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