Get involved: 2010 Annual Board Election

May 6th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in Board of Directors | 1 Comment »

To the Rochester Squash community,

For those of you that may not be familiar with the Rochester Squash Racquets Association, the RSRA is a registered non-profit sports organization that has been around since the late ’70s and is affiliated to the national amateur squash body, US Squash. We are a team of dedicated squash enthusiasts & volunteers who are committed to:

• continuing the strong legacy of Rochester squash greats like Peter Lyman and Fred & Carol Weymuller (Brief district spotlight on Rochester’s squash history in Squash Magazine)
• promoting adult and junior squash in the Rochester area
• and putting our city on the national and international squash map.

Beginning in the fall, we meet once a month, usually at the Genesee Valley Club, to brainstorm and plan the year’s squash activities some of which include:

• the recently concluded and highly successful Rochester ProAm (since 2001!)
• the popular city team leagues and monthly club box leagues
• youth clinics to promote junior squash
• monthly women’s squash night (in the works!)
• the creation of an urban squash program (FutureSquash) – a youth enrichment program for inner city, underprivileged middle school children, our most ambitious program by far and currently under development.

But for all this we need YOUR help! We are looking for fresh faces to lead the growth of Rochester squash in the next year and beyond.
The RSRA is holding its annual Board Election on Tuesday May 18th at 6:00pm at the Genesee Valley Club (by the squash courts). If you would like to contribute your efforts towards any of the activities mentioned above, please join us. Also, if you aren’t already a member of RSRA/USSquash, please consider becoming a member. Your membership supports all of these activities.

Thanks for your support and heres to another great year of squash ahead,
2009-10 RSRA Board

2009-10 Season Wrap-up

April 30th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in General, Tournaments | 1 Comment »

Congratulations to our winning teams in the city league:

Also, congratulations to Karim Abdel Gawad, the 2010 Rochester Pro Champion and all the amateur winners and finalists at the Rochester City Championship:
5.0 Main Draw: Edwin Goncharuk bt. Chris Fennell
5.0 Consolation: Alex Green bt. Thomson Chew
4.0 Main Draw: Tyler Kurlas bt. Michael Haben
4.0 Consolation: Brent Dubeshter bt. Austin Gilbert
3.0 Final: Chris Fenlon bt. Rick Sweeting

Almost there – 2010 Rochester ProAm

April 9th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in Events, General, Tournaments | Comments »

With a week until the amateur city championship and less than two weeks to the pro event, the stage is set for the the 2010 Rochester ProAm. These are times when the sport of squash is struggling to achieve a higher profile through its unsuccessful attempt at inclusion in the Olympics and tournaments on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) circuit, both big and small, come and go just as quickly depending on the availability of financial sponsors. Given this current state of the sport, the fact that this will be the NINTH consecutive edition of the Rochester ProAm speaks volumes about the generosity and loyalty of the tiny but close knit squash community in Rochester. Thanks to the generosity of our current 2010 sponsors (especially longtime supporters Andy Publow and Peter Lyman) we have raised just over 50% of our $8000 goal to run the event (this includes $6000 in prize money, a small amount considering the distances travelled by our visiting professionals from around the world to compete in our event).
Beginning April 20th, Rochester will experience, free of charge, the best squash we have ever seen. Please take a moment to support this squash spectacle by making a contribution, big or small, to the event.
Also, get in on the action and sign up for the amateur city championship – only three days left until the deadline!

Get ready for the 2010 Rochester ProAm

March 24th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in Events, General, Tournaments | Comments »

For the NINTH year in a row, get ready for world class professional squash right here in Rochester! When: April 20th-25th 2010 (See entire schedule) Where: Lyman Squash Courts, University of Rochester (Get directions) Who: Another rockstar cast of lightning fast squash professionals from around the world (See who’s coming and get to know them by hosting a player) Participate: The Amateur City Championships, Multiple skill levels, Apr 16th-18th (Details & Signup) SUPPORT: All matches are free to the community, truly by the community and for the community. We do not charge for tickets so help us out by making a contribution online via credit card or Paypal, in cash or by check. Past Events: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
Download tournament brochure. Watch for updates at the tournament website – www.rocprosquash.com or follow us on Twitter.
Brought to you by:

2010 City League season winners and playoff schedule

March 5th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in General, Leagues | 1 Comment »

UPDATE: Congratulations to the regular season winners!
Div 1
#1 – GVC1 (Chew) – 69% – Season winner!
#2 – UR (Fennel) – 67%
#3 – MC (Mukherjee)
#4 – GVC2(Mijangos)
Accordingly next Tuesday 3/16, GVC1(#1) will host GVC2 (#4), and UR (#2) will host MC (#3) for playoffs

Div II
#1 – MC3 (Nimick) – Season winner!
#2 – MC2 (Fehnel)
#3 – MT1 (Caroselli)
#4 – HE1 (Fenlon)
Accordingly, next Wednesday 3/17, MC3 (#1) will host HE1 (#4), and MC2 (#2) will host MT1 (#3) for playoffs.

Div III
#1 – MT1 (Brizee) – Season winner!
#2 – MT2 (Gilbert)
#3 – MC2 (Zarcone)
#4 – MC11 (Facik)
Accordingly, next Thursday 3/18, MT1 (#1) will host MC1 (#4), and MT2 (#2) will host MC2 (#3) for layoffs.

League Standings:

To: RSRA Captains

We are approaching the end of the season, with next week being the last of regular season play, so I just wanted to send a quick note regarding the playoff schedule.
Since we had a full season this year, we will use the #1 v #4 (at #1) and #2 v #3 (at #2) format, with the winners playing at the higher ranked team’s venue the following week.
Times will be the same as for regular league matches, e.g. 7:10 if at Med Center, 6:00 if at Harro, and 7:00 for anywhere else.

So:
- Week of Monday, March 15 will be the semis (#4 at #1, #3 at #2)
- Week of Monday, March 22 will be the finals (winners of the previous week play at the higher ranked club’s home court)

Since some of the leagues are very close this year, can you please report the scores as soon as possible so that we have plenty of time to figure out possibly tied situations. I will notify the captains of the playoff schedule as soon as I can once the scores have been submitted.
Thanks, and good luck!
Mark Raeside
RSRA League Coordinator

Yellowjacket Women 2009-2010

February 23rd, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in College Squash, General | 1 Comment »

UR Women’s Club Team 2009-10

UR Women’s Club Team 2009-10

CSA WOMEN’S NATIONALS UPDATE
(2/26): Rochester bt. Notre Dame 9-0
(2/27): Wellesley bt Rochester 7-2
Complete results available here.

Close on the heels of the CSA Men’s National Championship is the women’s event being played this weekend once again at Yale University. Rochester’s newly formed women’s squad which was introduced to the community during Meliora weekend in the fall and also on this blog has had a busy debut season. The team, unofficially coached by local players John Walsh and Tracy Ali, is a dedicated & committed group practicing three nights a week.
Last Saturday, the final score was 9-0 in favor of William Smith but the UR women did show great improvement from their first match against the same team in November. On Friday Feb 26, they will be participating in the E Division at the Women’s National Championship at Yale University. GO YELLOWJACKETS!
2009-10 Women’s Squash College Rankings (updated 2/22/2010)

“The majority of the girls on the team hadn’t played squash before coming to Rochester, but we’ve made great progress over the past few months with the help of our coach, John Walsh, and member of the Rochester squash community, Tracy Ali. John has helped us immensely with swing technique, movement, and general knowledge of the game. We’re really looking forward to meeting and competing with new teams at Nationals.” – Amanda Pollock ‘10

“After competing in a challenging match against William Smith Fall Semester, a second match against William Smith on Saturday will be particularly exciting for us. The team will be able to gauge how far we have come since October. Also, we look forward to not only competing at Yale, but also meeting other clubs and watching the top girl’s matches. Since men and women play a slightly different game, it will be interesting to see how the women’s matches are.” – Clarissa Perkins ‘12

ROSTER: Alison Hamlin, Amanda Pollock ‘10 Clare Zweig ‘12, Clarissa Perkins ‘12 Eliza Friedman ‘11, Elizabeth Vidaurre ‘10, Erica Gelb (Grad), Hannah Lee ‘12, Kate Weber Laura Chess ‘12, Lauren Reynolds ‘10, captain Nandini Seshan ‘11, Paola Pinto ‘10 Sarah Hulbert ‘12 Sofia Melgarejo ‘11 Stephanie Herrlinger ‘10, Suzanne McKenzie

SCHEDULE/RESULTS: Oct 31st, vs. Notre Dame @ Cleveland, Win 6-3 (places 2(LR), 3(CZ), 4(EG), 6(AP), 8(CP) & 9(LC)) Nov 14th, vs. William Smith @ home, Loss 9-0 Dec 5th, vs. Hamilton @ Hamilton, Loss 7-0 Dec 5th, vs. Colgate @ Hamilton, Loss 6-1 (place 4(AP)) Dec 5th, vs. Toronto @ Hamilton, Loss 7-0 Feb 5th, vs. Franklin & Marshall @ home, Loss 9-0 Feb 20th, vs. William Smith @ WS, Loss 9-0 2010 E Division Round Robin schedule at the Women’s Nationals: # Rochester vs Notre Dame : 4:30 PM Fri 2/26 @ Yale # Rochester vs Wellesley : 11:30 AM Sat 2/27 @ Yale # Rochester vs Drexel : 2:00 PM Sun 2/28 @ Yale

Team Rochester at Cleveland

UR Women’s team lined up for introductions at the William Smith match on Feb 20 2010

UR Women’s team member: Amanda Rosemore (white)

UR Women’s team member: Lauren Reynolds

UR Women’s team member: Laura Chess

Rochester women’s squash with Notre Dame at Cleveland

Yellowjacket squashers Aly, Laura, Sofia, Suzanne, Kate after the match against William Smith on Feb 20 2010

UR Women’s team member: Claire Zweig

Yellowjacket Men at the 2010 CSA Nationals

February 22nd, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in College Squash, General | Comments »

The men’s college squash season culminated in the 2010 Men’s CSA Nationals at Yale University in New Haven, CT this past weekend. And as a member of the almost 50 person strong fan club that went down to watch the weekend action aboard the first official Yellowjacket squash fan bus, I can say it was a special experience.

The University of Rochester Men’s team beat Cornell 7-2 in the first round of the Division 1 Potter Cup in a repeat performance of their recent faceoff on the home courts in early February. But the big match was yet to come as they squared off in the semifinals against the most improved team this year, the Yale University Bulldogs, on their home courts. At one point with the score tied at 3-3, the atmosphere was electrifying with fans in the stands, the stairs, the viewing decks, anywhere there was place to stand in the beautiful Brady Squash Center. At that stage, the match could have gone either way but in the end Yale pulled ahead with an gritty 5-4 win to earn a spot in the final against the mighty Trinity Bantams (The Bantam’s eventually won their 12th consecutive title defeating Yale 6-3 in the final on Sunday). The Yellowjacket’s had been just a whisker away from making history as never before have two non-Ivy league schools competed in the finals of the Potter cup in the 80 years of college squash. However, this is the closest the team has been to making it to the CSA finals (they lost 8-1 to Princeton in the semifinals last year) and that in itself is a significant achievement for the Yellowjackets who were ranked 24th in the nation less than five years ago. The team concluded the season with a 7-2 loss to Princeton in the 3/4 place playoff which was played at the Kellner Squash Center on the Trinity college campus on Sunday afternoon.

Rochester alum Piet Van Leer shot some great video of the epic 3-2 win (7-11,11-5,11-8,9-11,11-9) by Rochester’s Will Newnham over Yale’s John Roberts. The win really put Rochester back into the game. (Watch full-screen for hi-def)

For a complete roundup of the weekend’s action, check out CollegeSquashAssociation.Com
See also – Yellowjackets at the 2009 CSA Team Nationals

Photos from 2010 CSA Nationals by Robert McDavid:

(Round 1 – complete set)

(Seminifnals – complete set)

(3/4 Playoff – complete set)

Live Updates from the CSA Men’s Nationals

February 19th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in College Squash, General | Comments »

Follow the action from the 2010 Men’s Nationals at in New Haven, CT this weekend. Squash Rochester (and others) will be actively tweeting results from this weekend’s action. And if you want to join the conversation, simply add the hashtag #CSASquash to your tweet!

Stay in the loop

February 17th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in General | Comments »

We strive to provide you, our loyal readers, all news Rochester squash related at your fingertips. So if you haven’t noticed the tweaked sidebar to the right on this website yet, let us draw your attention to it NOW. ——————————————->>>

• Follow us on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Picasa
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Finally, SquashRochester will be travelling (on the first official Yellowjacket fan bus) to the CSA Nationals at Yale University this weekend where the Yellowjackets take on the most elite college squash teams in the nation in the Potter Cup, an end-of-season knockout tournament. Watch this space over the weekend for updates on the team’s progress on the road. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow the Yellowjackets themselves on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Rochester Squash Raquets Board meeting 9 Feb. ‘10

February 10th, 2010 Morgan Smith posted in Board of Directors, General | Comments »

Minutes from the February board meeting.
Present: Tracy Ali, Briget Borsa, Jack Fitzpatrick, Bill Lampeter, Morgan Smith, John Walsh
Read more »

Yellowjacket’s weekend roundup

February 8th, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in College Squash, General | Comments »

Rochester bt. Franklin & Marshall 8-1

Rochester bt. Cornell 7-2

Also, check out this excellent clip profiling the Yellowjackets at the University of Rochester Athletics website. Aren’t you proud to be a Yellowjacket fan?

Photos from the Rochester vs Cornell match on Sunday (© 2010 Paul Schwartz):

COMING UP – Yellowjackets’ Three Match Homestand

February 3rd, 2010 Mithun Mukherjee posted in College Squash, General | Comments »

BRING IT! Yellowjacket co-captains H.Ahmed and J.Bristow

BRING IT! Yellowjacket co-captains H.Ahmed and J.Bristow

ROCHESTER YELLOWJACKETS (#3) vs. FRANKLIN & MARSHALL DIPLOMATS (#12)
When: 6:00 pm Friday February 5th 2010
Coach’s Corner: “F&M return to the Lyman Squash Courts at the University of Rochester. F&M have been a solid team for many years, and with the addition of former former PSA World No.1 John White as coach, look to rise up and challenge the best teams in the league.
The addition of Juan Diego Lopez from Colombia and Guillerme de Melo from Brazil (brother of Gabriel already at F&M) strengthen the line-up.
F&M is a work in progress, and while Rochester don’t expect too much trouble, there are some very talented players that could produce surprising victories if Rochester aren’t sharp.”

ROCHESTER YELLOWJACKETS (#3) vs. CORNELL BIG RED (#6)
When: Sunday February 7th, 12:00 pm *BIG MATCH*
Coach’s Corner:“Despite finishing 6th in Nationals last year after losses to Yale & Harvard, Cornell were awarded the most improved team award for their season. Cornell have also never lost to Rochester.
Cornell have an umbilical cord to Ontario and recruit the best players form the province, as well as some strong US players. This year they added Arjun Gupta, who will most likely start mid-to-high order.
A very similar line-up to Rochester in terms of ability down the order, this match is impossible to predict. Rochester suffered a 5-4 loss last season at Cornell, and now look to reverse this result on home soil. This could be a very interesting local rivalry for years to come.”

ROCHESTER YELLOWJACKETS (#3) vs HOBART STATESMEN (#24)
When: Wednesday February 10th, 6:00 pm
Coach’s Corner:“A local derby played mid-week and a repeat of the Liberty League match earlier in the season.
Legendary player and coach Carol Weymuller, Head Coach, brings a sense of discipline and knowledge to the Hobart players.”