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

Thanks to Mark Raeside, league chair of the RSRA for setting up the league schedules.
Here they are:

Captains, please note:
1. Log on to the system (logon link on top left), enter your rosters and ensure that all your team members are current, paid-up members of the RSRA. All city league players are required to be current members and may play not more than two league matcheswithout a current RSRA/USSquash membership. Show your support, enjoy the camaraderie, become a member!

2. After deliberating over the PAR 11 or HiHo9 debate and based upon the response to the city league poll and subsequent feedback from Div 1 teams, the RSRA board has unanimously decided to mandate PAR11 for Division I only. Divisions II and III will continue with the old HiHo9 scoring system.

Men’s Potter Cup – 2nd Round Consolation FINALS
Gustav Detter (Trinity) bt. Hameed Ahmed (Rochester) – 5-9;9-6;9-10;9-8;9-5

Men’s Molloy Cup – SEMIFINALS
Chris Hanebury (UWO) bt. Will Newnham (Rochester) – 6-9;9-1;10-8;9-5

Men’s Molloy Cup – 2nd Round Consolation SEMIFINALS
G. Miller (Williams) bt. Joe Chapman (Rochester) – 1-9;4-9;9-3;9-3;9-4

Men’s Molloy Cup – 3rd Round Consolation FINALS
Nick Sisodia (Dartmouth) bt. Adam Perkiomaki (Rochester) – 4-9;9-5;9-7;3-9;9-2
Men’s Molloy Cup – 3rd Round Consolation SEMIFINALS
Adam Perkiomaki (Rochester) bt. E Newhouse (Dartmouth) – 9-7;9-5;9-1

RESULTS (Saturday 2/28):
Men’s Potter Cup – Consolation Semifinals
Bennie Fischer (Rochester) bt. John Fulham (Yale) – 9-6;9-2;9-6

Men’s Potter Cup – 2nd Round Consolation Semifinals
Hameed Ahmed (Rochester) bt. Hesham El Halaby (Princeton) – 9-1;7-9;9-3;6-9;9-6

Men’s Molloy Cup – Quarterfinals
Will Newnham (Rochester) bt. JP Rothie () – 10-8;9-3;9-6

Men’s Molloy Cup – 3rd Round Consolation Quarterfinals
Adam Perkiomaki (Rochester) bt. Reed Andresen () – DEFAULT

Men’s Potter Cup – Quarterfinals
Colin West (Harvard) bt. Jim Bristow (Rochester) – 9-7;9-2;9-2

Men’s Potter Cup – Consolation Quarterfinals
Parth Sharma (Trinity) bt. Matt Domenick (Rochester) – 9-6;9-4;1-9;9-3
Andres Vargas (Trinity) bt. Fred Reid (Rochester) – 9-4;9-6;9-2
Bennie Fischer (Rochester) bt. Alex Domenick (Cornell) – 9-6;9-1;9-0

Men’s Molloy Cup – Third round of 16
Will Newnham (Rochester) bt. Nick Sisodia (Dartmouth) – 9-4;9-4;9-2
Ethan Buchsbaum (Williams) bt. Adam Perkiomaki (Rochester) – 9-4;9-4;7-9;2-9;9-6

Men’s Molloy Cup – 2nd Round Consolation Quarterfinals
Joe Chapman (Rochester) bt Allan Lutz (Navy) – 9-6;1-9;3-9;10-8;9-5

RESULTS (Friday 2/27):
Men’s Potter Cup – Second round of 16
Baset Chaudhry (Trinity) bt. Hameed Ahmed (Rochester) – 9-0;9-1;9-0
Jim Bristow (Rochester) bt. David Canner (Princeton) – 9-3;10-8;8-10;7-9;9-5

Men’s Potter Cup – Consolation – First Round of 32
Matt Domenick (Rochester) bt. Supreet Singh (Trinity) – 7-9;2-9;10-8;9-2;9-6
Fred Reid (Rochester) bt. Will Hartigan (Cornell) – 9-1;9-4;9-4
Bennie Fischer (Rochester) bt. Todd Ruth (Yale) – 9-5;9-5;9-2

Men’s Molloy Cup – Second round of 32
Will Morris (Williams) bt. Joe Chapman (Rochester) vs – 9-5;9-5;7-9;9-7
Will Newnham (Rochester) bt. Frank Cohen (Harvard) – 9-2;9-10;9-3;9-5
Adam Perkiomaki (Rochester) vs Naishadh Lalwani (Yale) – 9-4;9-3;8-10;9-6

1. Division 1
   • GVC2 (Thomson Chew, Ilya Voloshin, Alex Whitaker, Jack Fitzpatrick)
2. Division 2
   • MT3 (Doug Bennett, Allan Lesser, Buzz Ashenburg, Ed Nugent)
3. Division 3
   • KP2 (Bob Schultz, Charlie Follett, Al Arujunan, M Kurfiss, Bill Busse, Dave Wenschof)

Winners – Playoffs:

1. Division 1
   • GVC2 (Thomson Chew, Ilya Voloshin, Alex Whitaker, Jack Fitzpatrick)
2. Division 2
   • MT3 (Doug Bennett, Allan Lesser, Buzz Ashenburg, Ed Nugent)
3. Division 3
   • MC2 (Troy Zarcone, Amanda Smrcka, Alan Smrcka)

All results have been saved for posterity in the archives. A big thank you to the RSRA league chair, Mark Raeside for running the league and to Chris Muir for his ever-ready assistance with Boxleague administration. On to the winter league this week and please remember to enter your results in both Boxleague AND Railstation. Good luck and have fun on the courts!

The 2007-2008 winter league will begin in the week of January 14th and continue on until the end of March. Note to all team captains: Please send in your team submissions to your club rep by December 31st.

This is a great way to play outside your club and meet other squashers around the city. Each week, teams from each division and each club square off against each other in a best-of-3 match. Points are tallied at the end of the season and the top teams duke it out in a final playoff. A chance to win a team plaque, league champ t-shirts and other goodies. If you are not in a team already and would like to join the winter league action, please contact your club rep to sign up and they will assign you to a team based on your skill level. Ohh and….Happy Holidays!

RailStation:
This winter season we will be using our existing Boxleague league management system and also trying out US Squash’s RailStation. We are very excited to give this a try. A major benefit of Railstation is that each league match counts toward your US Squash national rating and ranking.
Team captains, please report your scores into both systems. Click on the Railstation link on the right sidebar to log in and report scores into RailStation. To report scores into BoxLeague, click on the appropriate link to your division on the right sidebar.

I will do a write-up for the RSRA website, and am trying to come up with the right opening line.
Trying to decide among:
1. The world was stunned when GVC 1 lost….
2. The universe was astounded when MT2 won….
3. In the whole solar system, never has there been such an astonishing turn of events…
4. David slaying Goliath was nothing compared to what happened at Mid-Town Tuesday night..
5. At least the Jets had Namath when they shocked the Colts….
6. In the upset of the century….
7. Evil triumphed over good at Mid-Town last Tuesday…

(naw, skip #7, it seems a little exaggerated)
Anyway, here are the pics.

The assembled round robinners

The winning MT2 team

Also rans from GVC1

And MT3

1) Split League season:
Thank you for all your responses to our league survey. We received a half and half response in favor of the split league so this year we shall be experimenting with two leagues: a Fall league (Oct-Dec) and a Winter league (Jan-Mar). For a detailed schedule, look here. Thank you for some very thoughtful comments and suggestions and we will be working towards those in the coming season. In the meantime, if you plan to play in the team leagues this year please get in touch with your club rep ASAP.

2) Membership Fee:
This year the USSRA, the national squash body with its new management, is seriously revamping the organization by improving benefits to its members and communication with the local SRAs. To remain a sanctioned SRA the RSRA must do away with the RSRA only memberships this year, something that is against USSRA policy. The new combined USSRA/RSRA membership fee ($70) reflects the changes in the new fee structure to provide all these benefits to our members. This includes – $45 (USSRA) + $25 (RSRA).
Here is the complete list of USSRA membership benefits. In addition, the RSRA provides local benefits as well. This is a modest fee to pay and helps us in a big way to support squash locally as well as nationally so please remember to renew your memberships.
IMPORTANT: As usual, to be eligible to play in the team leagues, you MUST be a USSRA/RSRA member. Please sign up/renew your membership online from the USSRA website or download the membership form here.

3) 2006 U.S. Five Man Team Championships: This annual event will be held at Yale (New Haven, CT) on a weekend in December (8th-10th). Five man teams representing USSRA districts, colleges, universities, or schools, will be placed in two separate draws. Feed-in draws and consolation plates will guarantee every team two matches.This year a new 4.0 level is being introduced. More details here.
It would be great if the RSRA could field at least a 4.0 team, (we have enough talent here) to go down to Yale and kick butt. But first we must gauge interest from YOU – so watch out for another poll soon for a chance to voice your opinion (we’ve noticed you’re most responsive through these online polls!)

Heres to another great squash season!!!
RSRA Board

1. Split season or single season:
Number in favor of split season: 22
Number in favor of single season: 12
Number indifferent: 9

2. Playoffs:
Number in favor of no playoff: 2
Number in favor of top two playoff: 16
Number in favor of round robin playoff: 24
No input: 1

There have also been some very well thought out comments and suggestions. Thank you for all your inputs. The Board will be considering all of these very closely and will arrive at a decision regarding the league structure by the next board meeting in September.

“…I am pretty happy with the way it is done. All I can suggest is that I wouldn\’t mind playing earlier than 7 PM. May I also thank you all who are organizing the league as well as this survey. It has been and is a pleasure to participate in it….”

“…Also, divisions should be arranged by ranking. If there is some question as to who be in which division, the clubs should arrange challenge matches….”

“…The split season as laid out in the proposed schedule has too long a gap without matches. I would also be concerned about players dropping out for the second season. I do agree that the season is a little long, but it does keep us playing throughout winter months. While some teams are out of the running early and others are in the playoffs easily, there is sometime to be said about March Maddess in the RSRA every spring….”

“…I LOVE the idea of 2 seasons…”

“…I think 3 weeks off in Jan is too much. I’d propose starting the second half the week of 1/8 and either starting the playoffs one or two weeks earlier or lenghtening the second half….”

“…Since reading the minutes from the most recent Board Meeting, I have had a chance to talk to a few of the “regulars” at MidTown about the proposed changes to the City League. If there was a central theme to the comments, it was probably, why change what is not broken? I would have to agree with that question. Although last season was my first playing in the league, I would have to say that I believe the City League 2005 Season,was a big success. It seems to me that 2005 participation was an increase over 2004, with more teams at all 3 levels. In addition, by the sounds of things around MT, there will be even broader participation in 2006. So, I guess that is my main question… Why the change in schedule and format.
I think that the length of the season is a strength. It allows for broader team participation and does not pressure a team captain or individual to put the top 3 on the court every week, which a shorter season would do. By lengthening the season a captain will be more likely to play his/her #4 or #5 players, knowing that over a long seaon you can balance out. I also think that the long season puts a premium on the “commitment” to the team and builds better team continuity and chemistry. I think a shorther season may create people selectively playing and will likely end up with a strong participation in the spring season and a smaller turnout for the fall season. That may not happen in season 1, but I believe it would occur over time. The long season requires a commitment, I think that is a strength.
With regard to the playoffs, I can’t imagine why we would want to change the format. The long battle towards 4 or 6 playoff spots and then the opportunity for these teams to square off one last time for the championship is very exciting and something I think we all enjoy. I would only point to other pro sports leagues, who are using wild cards and other formats to get more teams involved in a playoff chase
If there were issues with the number of participants in the league, I could see making the changes, but I think we have a league that is growing in participation. I would rather see RSRA focus more on some of the opportunities to make Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights more social, by organizing pizza and beer parties after the matches or perhaps coordinating some more exhibitions. I know I’d love to see some of the top Div 1 players square off.
With all of that being said… I would have opted for an option to keep things as they are. I am sure that in your discussions, there have been weaknesses in the current schedule which have been discussed and I would admit that my experience in this league is limited. However, I would focus more efforts on promoting the league, than I would on changing the format.
Just a thought and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss further
Thanks for the effort you all put into our league and this great game….”

“…Could be a good idea to split Div 2 into sub divisions….”

“…Per question #2 above, the league by-laws define play-off stucture. Depends upon the number of teams in each division. Please use the by-laws as defined. This allows the RSRA members to anticipate how the league is run. The need for shorter seasons is perhaps driven by a small number of teams in the divsions. Perhaps Division II last year with 10 teams was a perfect example of the advantage of a longer season. We were able to play each time twice (away and home) with one or two extra matches. This built up a sense of competition in this league last year. The proposed shorter season might have a problem with even one match with every team if a divsion grew past 10 teams (would be a great problem to have!)….”

“…I would like to see a format (especially if you move to a two league format) where at the end of each season, the top Team in Division II plays the bottom team in Division I (maybe even a best of three format) to determine which team stays up and which team moves down a division. This would also be done between divisions II and III. If you move to a two-league format then you will need minimum of 10-12 weeks for each league (with playoffs after that). SO you would be considering a 14-15 week format….”

“…I like the current format-simple and able to be worked around if conflicts arise. I really don’t know any weaknesses in the current format other than forfeits, and the new suggestions don’t address that. Ending the season, includung playoffs by last weekend in March should be considered….”

“…I have no objection to the split season format, in fact I have played in leagues that have done that with success before. But I am a little concerned with the statment in the opening paragarph about shuffeling the teams in between the seasons. Who would shuffel them? Would it be the team making changes or the league? Our team enjoys playing together and wants to stay as a unit, if we get better as a team, which is our goal, we should move up in divisions as a team. Much the same way the box leages are run. I don’t think that the continual shuffeling of teams by some type of governing body will allow for very much comraderie within teams and I would be opposed to that type of scheduling. However, and more to your point, I have no objetion to the split season.
Thanks for all you effort….”

“….Would the teams be the same for the fall and spring leagues or will there be shuffling of team members after the fall league and/or problems getting enough people to sign up for both leagues?…”

“…Question, Would this be league playoffs for each league season (Fall and then again in Spring)? Would this be too much Playoffs?…”

“…League winners should get better prizes than playoff winners since playoffs are more of a added playing bonus. Playoff winners many times are determined more by home court advantage and who’s available to play while the league is a truer test of the best team. Also value of prizes should be determined by what players paid to play in the league or championship so I do not agree with the posted statement that city championship prizes are automatically the “best” prizes. Board should look at what players contributed and determine accordingly. For example, in Div. 1 if we have 7 teams with say 28 players paying then the revenue from that might be higher than 8 players in the 3.5 level of teh championship so why would the $$ spent on league winner prizes be less than that spent on the 3.5 tournament prizes? Someone should just run the numbers and set the value of prizes accordigly….”

“…An event-based leage in which larger teams (say, 15)from each club would play each other club twice (home & home). These events might be more festive, with arrangements at a restaurant for a big meal afterwards. This format might attract the top players as well as those of us in the 2′s, 3′s and 4′s….”

“…How about all make the playoffs and league determines the seeding or a mid year team tournament with all teams participating and seeding determined by the current standings?…”

“…Run two tournaments at the end of the fall league – that mimick the collegiate playoffs. That is, an all team tournament and and an individual tournament.
The spring league should be capped off with the city championships. Bring the pro’s as part of this – this format was the most successful for getting a good turnout for the city championship….”