College Squash Top Ten Men of the Decade 2000-2010

(updated 23-jan-10 16:40 ) [DRAW/RESULTS]

"All Decade Team" Dominated by Trinity, Princeton Stars
2000 to 2010 was the Trinity-Princeton decade in US Men's Collegiate Squash. As the decade began, Trinity was just beginning their decade of domination, with Harvard having relinquished their spot at the top. Trinity's road to dominance began with the recruiting of Marcus Cowie of England [see 1999 SquashTalk article]. Though he was gone by the beginning of the decade - the echoes of his name and role reverbrate at the outset of the decade. And we equally must mention Tim Wyant (read article), Harvard's number one through 2000, who together with Peter Yik (all decade # six) were Cowie's rivals in the 1999 season.

As the decade ends, the University of Rochester is crowding Princeton and Trinity for attention at the top.

But this decade was all Trinity's and Princeton's.

As always happens in collegiate sport, it is so very difficult to compare players of different years, due to their four year collegiate careers and the fact that they most often never face of head-to-head at their peaks. All the same, we have put together, necessarily subjectively, the SquashTalk top ten collegiate men of the decade. They are:

1. Yasser El Halaby - Princeton
2. Baset Chaudhry - Trinity
3. Bernardo Samper - Trinity
4. Julian Illingworth - Yale
5. Sid Suchde - Harvard
6. Peter Yik - Princeton
7. Gustav Detter - Trinity
8. Will Broadbent - Harvard
9. Mauricio Sanchez - Princeton
10. (tied) David Yik - Princeton
10. (tied) Will Evans - Princeton
10. (tied) Michael Ferreira - Trinity
10. (tied) Ilan Oren - Harvard
10. (tied) Michael Blumberg - Harvard
10. (tied) Anschul Manchanda - Yale

OK, so it's a bit of an easy route out, that we have included seven players tied as all-decade number ten. But in reality, these six players were all so good, so dedicated, so entertaining, and so dedicated to their respective teams, that we needed to include them all.

Here are a few highlights about these illustrious players:

DECADE #1: Yasser El Halaby (Princeton). From his first arrival at Princeton, Yasser El Halaby brought an electricity to Princeton squash and to the Princeton rivalries with Trinity, Yale and Harvard. Yasser's first match of substance as a Tiger Freshman was an early-season contest against Yale. A sense for the drama to come was his contest against Julian Illingworth, in which he fell behind 2-0 and well behind in the third before dramatically coming from behind. El Halaby brought a unique combination of brash and versatile attacking squash with unbelievable court sense and courtesy on court. In stark contrast to most collegians - who are drilled and reminded to use length, length, length; whenver Yasser found trouble, he went on the attack, using mainly the front 1/3 of the court. He was so fast with such fast reactions, that this gambit was almost foolproof in the college ranks. Noone could stop the tidal wave of winners that this approach typically produced. El Halaby's four-straight Collegiate titles - the first time this had been done by a male collegian - was an impressive feat and his legacy to college squash. The only thing he couldn't collect was a national title, as he and his teammates were denied by the Trinity juggernaut.

DECADE #2: Baset Chaudhry (Trinity). For a guy with a huge frame, Baset Chaudhry demonstrates impressive mobility, quickness and touch. Chaudhry has collected two national titles -defeating Princeton's Mauricio Sanchez on both occasions. He was defeated in the semi-finals his Freshman year.

Chaudhry creates a lot of difficulties for his opponents, because he makes maximum use of his height to clog the "T", and unless an opponent has an extremely sound strategy to move Chaudry to a position where he needs to run and prevents him from constant volleying, the opponent will have problems.

A modest individual and strong student, Chaudhry has both been a dominant player and a great spokesperson for the collegiate game.

DECADE #3: Bernardo Samper (Trinity). Bernardo Samper won the National individual title (over Princeton's Will Evans) as a Freshman, but was unable to repeat as Yasser El Halaby came onto the scene. Bernardo came close to El Halaby on multiple occasions, but was unable to get past that roadblock each season. A compact and energetic presence on court, Samper used up a lot of energy on court, and during critical tournaments and junctures had a tendancy to suffer from cramps, as he did at the 2005 individuals his senior year, being force to retire in the fourth game against Julian Illingworth.

Bernardo Samper is currently playing on the PSA world squash tour where he has enjoyed some success.

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DECADE #4: Julian Illingworth (Yale). Julian Illingworth joined the Yale team the same year that El Halaby joined Princeton's squad. His career as a collegian was defined by his rivalry with El Halaby and his team's with the Princeton team. (see Illingworth's recollection of that rivalry) While El Halaby's style can best be described as explosive, Julian's can most closely be defined as flowing. Illingworth flows around the court, covering the court tirelessly, preparing each shot tirelessly, and trying to impose pace and movement with deception. Having been taught by Portland's Khalid Mir, Julian expresses some fearless attacking to the front court that show the Mir heritage.

In addition to a stellar Collegiate career, Illingworth has gone on to win the US Nationals four times and to become the highest ever ranked US player on the PSA world tour.

DECADE #5: Sid Suchde (Harvard). Harvard's Sid Suche