Men's squash club hopeful for varsity after No. 35 ranking
Brett Fischer
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Sports
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Now, the team is 35th in the country.
Considering that in 2005 it was not a well known sport at Drexel, it is amazing to see the transformation the Drexel squash team has made. A large part of the successes are due to the co-founders of the organization, Evan Cyrkin and Justin Burkholder.
Cyrkin played in high school, but when he came to Drexel there was no organized squash club. He thought it would be great to take on some responsibility early on in his collegiate career.
"I wanted to spark some interest at Drexel and spread the word of squash because it's a great sport," Cyrkin, the president of the squash club, said. "On campus it wasn't very popular."
Cyrkin and Burkholder spent months working on getting recognition for the club; they weren't officially recognized until 2006.
"Our main focus our first year was developing a strong dedicated foundation of players," Cyrkin said. "I love the competitive atmosphere of the game, you get a great cardio workout and it's highly addictive."
Even though Burkholder had prior experience with tennis, he wasn't aware of squash until he started college.
The two men founded the squash club in 2005 and helped build a team consisting of the top nine players. They said there are roughly 25 dedicated people in the organization.
"When I came in as a freshman, I had no idea what the sport was," Burkholder said. "I started playing tennis at a young age so I had the racket skills and decided to get on the court and give it a shot. Little did I know I would be competing in the collegiate national championships."
Throughout the week, students are often found playing squash at the courts. In addition, Cyrkin and Burkholder get e-mails weekly inquiring about joining the team.
"It's a great stress reliever, it's a great way to network," Burkholder said. "In fact, at my current co-op, I was challenged by JP Garnier, the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline. It's a great way to meet new friends and it's a sport you can play for the rest of your life."
The number of members in the squash club only expects to increase in the near future with the possibility of having a varsity team. According to Cyrkin and Burkholder, there are plans to have new international courts with stadium seating at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
"We plan to use this momentum by the University to eventually develop a varsity squash program," Burkholder said.
Even though the squash team has yet to reach the varsity level, the members of the team have trained as if they were competing at that level.
In the months leading up to Nationals, The Drexel squash team practiced four times a week and maintained a vigorous training regimen. Their home courts were at UPenn and their main focus was on conditioning. They made frequent visits to the Rocky steps at the Art Museum.
At Nationals, they were placed in a bracket that consisted of teams ranked between 33rd and 40th.
For a team that finished at No. 46 last year, this was a huge step in a positive direction.
Drexel won its first match against Haverford, but lost to Virginia in the semifinals. In the third-place game of the bracket, the Dragons had to face No. 1-seeded Vanderbilt.
Going into the ninth and final match of the tournament, Vandy and Drexel were tied four all in the National Consolation Finals.
With Drexel's No. 4 player, Ali Remtulla, down 2-0 in a best-of-five series, it seemed inevitable that the Dragons would falter. But with a little bit of motivation from Burkholder, Remtulla kept fighting.
"When Ali was down love-two in games, I told him, 'They don't have Rocky steps in Tennessee!'" Burkholder exclaimed.
Remtulla eventually came back to win the game and helped win the match for Drexel.
With the win, Drexel earned its placing as the 35th best team in the country.
"We're amazed," Cyrkin said. "This was always wishful speculation for us and now that it's a reality, it's just phenomenal. We're thrilled. Going from nothing at all to bringing a full squad of nine players plus subs to Harvard and finishing 35th in the nation really exceeds all of our expectations."
Outside of competition, however, the Drexel squash team puts a strong emphasis on donating time to better the community by getting involved with the SquashSmarts program.
SquashSmarts is a non-profit organization that combines the sport of squash with academic tutoring and mentoring of under-served, urban youth in order to develop self esteem and discipline through academic, athletic and personal achievement.
"We enjoy going in and giving these guys a shot when they normally wouldn't have the chance due to their potential socioeconomic status," Cyrkin said. "We find it rewarding."
Steve Gregg, the executive director of SquashSmarts, along with their coach, Jake Greenbaum, have been instrumental in helping them develop a strong collegiate squash team.
But the squash club doesn't just volunteer because it is their obligation.
"We dedicate time to the SquashSmarts program as much as possible so that we are connected with the organization and get a true sense of accomplishment and make a difference in these kids' lives," Burkholder said.
With the addition of a women's team that competed in its first Nationals at Princeton University, combined with the on and off the court successes by the men's team, Drexel may have the opportunity within the next few years to have varsity squash as part of its athletic program.
"It has not come easy," Burkholder said. "It's taken a lot of work on our part and perseverance to get our players out and to stick with it. In the end, it paid off."
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