Five 1998 Squash Highlights

As 1999 gets underway, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of 1998. For US Squash, it was a decidedly tumultuous year filled with both lowlights and highlights, but with the hope of the new year in mind, I thought I would focus on the positive and pick out five highlights that will stay in my mind for years to come. I hope some of them resonate with you, too.

  1. Marty Clark Shows his Guts

A year ago at this time, few thought that Marty would be able to successfully defend his National title. Richard Chin had played ahead of him on the US World Championship Team, Marty’s desire seemed to be in question, and he was a full-time medical school student. Marty was aware of the doubts, though, and they annoyed him. So, quietly, he decided to make sure that he was prepared. He took his training to a new level by working his way up to 26 consecutive quarter-mile sprints (each at a five-minute per mile pace), and he showed up in LA looking fit and focused. Grantly Pinnington, playing particularly well, gave Marty all he could handle in the semi’s, but Marty’s superior conditioning paid off; he took Pinnington out in five, and he won the finals 3-0 over upset king Mark Lewis. Clark isn’t the most popular US player, but he is definitely the best, and he showed why in Los Angeles.

  1. US Women Focus on Youth – and Win

Faced with aging stars who were reluctant to commit to two important team competitions, the Women’s Committee made a courageous decision to fill out its World Championship and Pan American Federation Games teams with younger, mostly inexperienced players. The Federation Games team, anchored by veterans Berkeley Belknap and Karen Kelso, included two US Team newcomers, Blair Irwin and Shirin Kaufman. The team played well and stunned most observers by winning a bronze medal in the Pan American Federation Games [the Games were particularly important this year, for the competition directly affected the seeding for next year’s Pan American Games in Winnipeg]. The World Championship team also featured two young players in college star Ivy Pochoda and 16-year-old Louisa Hall. Led by stalwarts Demer Holleran and Ellie Pierce, this team also pulled off a surprising result by finishing ninth with a win over seventh-seeded Canada. The Women’s Committee’s bold decision to go with a combination of youth and experience resulted in two of the year’s most memorable results.

  1. College Controversy: Who’s Number One?

College squash had a number one controversy in 1998 – and it was great. Harvard has been king of men’s college squash for so long that it seemed hard to believe that they could lose. But Trinity knocked them off 5-4 in their dual team match to take the regular season crown. Harvard Coach Bill Doyle, the winningest coach in Division I sports (and Trinity alum), showed why his teams rarely lose when Harvard’s men got revenge by winning the intercollegiate title a few weeks later. One of the more passionate squash arguments ensued, with both Trinity Coach Paul Assaiante and Doyle winning converts. For the fans among us, the fact that there was a debate made the season worth remembering.

  1. A Native Wins the British Open

Since 1981, no one who didn’t spell their last name K – h – a – n had won the men’s division of the British Open. In 1998, a British citizen, Peter Nicol, broke that spell. Incredibly popular and hard-working, the young Scot’s win marked the end of an unprecedented run for Jahangir and Jansher Khan of Pakistan. Jahangir won the title ten times between 1982 and 1991, while Jansher had won the last six. The end of Khan’s dominance may not be over, for it turned out that Jansher was injured and he has had surgery to correct the trouble. But for now, a native of squash’s birthplace holds the sport’s most prestigious title.

  1. Jon Power plays in the Hyder

The Hyder Trophy is the oldest softball tournament in North America, and it was fitting that for its 30th anniversary, it both returned to its original host, the New York Athletic Club, and attracted the number three ranked player in the world, Jon Power. Power’s entertaining style and flair produced some of the most exciting squash in New York in recent memory. His final match against Angus Kirkland, the best pro residing in the United States, featured quips and shots and good humor.

While these were my top five highlights, I’d also like to mention three birthdays, of sorts, that occurred in 1998. The Commonwealth Games (Europe’s pre-Olympic Games) saw the birth of doubles (albeit softball) as part of a team championship, Howard Wilkins – squash’s best ambassador – reached 90 while managing to look two decades younger, and Squash Magazine turned one. Happy Birthday to all three.