UVA squash announces 2018-19 schedule

The UVA men’s and women’s squash teams announced their 2018-19 varsity schedule on Thursday (Sept. 6). Both teams will compete in 14 matches against varsity programs in addition to adding club opponents throughout the season.

“I’m particularly pleased to see us scheduled with such a high number of quality matches at home this year, something that has been difficult to achieve in previous seasons,” head coach Mark Allen said. “With Princeton, Dickinson, George Washington, Yale and the Mid-Atlantic Team Championships at McArthur Squash Center, our home fans will have plenty of opportunities to come out and cheer us on as we begin to compete at the highest level of college squash.

“As is often the case, the late January period looks to be the most crucial part of our season and the most likely stretch to define our seeding for college nationals. The schedule we have in place certainly gives us the opportunity to achieve our goal of a top-10 finish in the national rankings for both men and women, and I can’t wait to get started.”

The Cavaliers will begin their second year as a varsity program after an outstanding campaign last season. The men’s team finished the season ranked 14th in College Squash Association’s national poll, while the women’s team concluded the year ranked 13th.

The men’s team will open the year at Navy (Nov. 7) before both teams compete against Princeton (Nov. 11) at home. Virginia will head on the road, taking on Drexel (Nov. 17) and Pennsylvania (Nov. 18) with the women’s team playing an additional match against Stanford (Nov. 17).

The Cavaliers will close 2018 on the road, facing Fordham (Nov. 30), Columbia (Dec. 1) and Cornell (Dec. 1).

In January, UVA will play seven matches in nine days, competing on the road against Williams (Jan. 19), Colby (Jan. 25), Franklin & Marshall (Jan. 26) and Middlebury (Jan. 26), while hosting Dickinson (Jan. 20), George Washington (Jan. 23) and Yale (Jan. 27).

Virginia will host the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Championships at the McArthur Squash Center (Feb. 2-3) before traveling to the College Squash Association Team Championships. The men will compete in New Haven, Conn. (Feb. 15-17), while the women’s team will compete in Hartford, Conn. (Feb. 22-24). The season will close with the CSA Individual Championships (Mar. 1-3) in Providence, R.I.