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SAINT LAWRENCE EMBARKS ON AMBITIOUS JOURNEY WITH CHITNIS AT THE HELM
by Rob Dinerman

Dec 26, 2001 © 2001 Rob Dinerman and SquashTalk, photos: © 2001 Ron Beck and Debra Tessier, may not be reproduced without express permission.

SQUASH PROGRAM AT ST. LAWRENCE ON THE UPSWING

One of the most encouraging hallmarks of the health and vitality of the college game can be found not only in the long-standing squash prosperity of the stellar Ivy League squads and Trinity's powerhouse program, but rather in the number of smaller schools who in recent years have stepped up and committed both the vision and the funds to construct outstanding international-ball court facilities and to recruit quality players, both home-grown and from overseas.

While Williams and Amherst have always fielded competitive varsities, they have been joined in recent years by such institutions as Hobart, Colby, Wesleyan, Bowdoin and even little Dennison College in Grandview, Ohio, which now has an outstanding program and is led by No. 1 Javier Castilla.

Now it appears that St. Lawrence University, located in Canton, NY about 20 miles south of Ottawa, is poised to join that list as well. Currently only in the third year of its existence, the squash program as a result of a recent massive expansion of its entire athletic facility is currently blessed with six excellent glass-back-wall gallery courts, with another three or four due in the near future, and is clearly benefiting from the attentive support of Athletics Director Margie Strait.

Though ranked only 27th from the 2000-2001 season and still seeking their first win after seven matches of their 20-match schedule, the men's program, led at the top of the ladder by No. 1 Andrew Constantine of Buffalo, NY and No. 2 Henry Farnham, from the Merion Cricket Club's famed junior program in suburban Philadelphia, has its sights set on emulating the success of the women's team, which has posted a 7-2 record so far and is ranked in the top 15. Much of the new energy infusing this still-fledgling program has come from first-year men's and women's head coach Vijay Chitnis, 30, a Canadian native who was Brown class of '94 and was named a second-team all-American during the 1990-91 season, at the conclusion of which he received the university's Athlete Of The Year designation.

A product of the same West Island Tennis & Squash Club's junior program in suburban Montreal in which future national rankees Scott Barker and Sean Saguy also participated, Chitnis's primary coach during that formative stage was Darnly Holder, currently the head coach at Milbrook prep school, and he played many tournaments on the extensive Canadian junior circuit prior to traveling to Providence, RI and beginning his college career. Interestingly for a college softball coach, Vijay emphasizes racquet skill as more important even than conditioning, and has already had success with that approach with his two top-ranked women, No. 1 Sara Kreiner, a junior who went 9-0 this fall, and sophomore Gigi Tuten, who has won all of her matches three games to love.

Saint Lawrence #1, Sara Kreiner (St. Lawrence SID photo)

Chitnis knows as well the importance extensive recruiting will have in building his programs(to date, there isn't a single non-American on his roster, an impossibility for any successful college program in today's softball era), and both he and his assistant coach Dave Howell will be extensively involved on this front, where Vijay hopes that his many connections both in neighboring Canada and also in India(where he spent several post-Brown years doing social work) will work in his favor.

His efforts are already about to pay their first dividend when the second semester begins in mid-January and Lara Kimble, from Zimbabwe, joins the 2,000-member student body at St. Lawrence. She is expected to play fairly high on the women's varsity and will represent the first tangible result of Chitnis's recruiting efforts.

Much of the college-related attention during the forthcoming several months will deservedly be focused on Trinity's attempt to win their fourth consecutive NISRA Intercollegiate championship and on David Yik's effort to defend the NISRA Individual title he and his older brother Peter between them have won during each of the last three seasons. But much of the essence of a college squash season occurs away from the spotlight, in challenge matches, drilling sessions and meets between schools out of the Ivy League and out of the top ten, where bonds are formed, valuable match experience is gained and programs slowly but surely grow into first respectability and eventually prominence.

The squash program at St. Lawrence seems already launched on that praiseworthy track, and it will be interesting to see how strongly its leaders can build on that encouraging start both this winter and in seasons to come.

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