The Navy squash program, under the direction of sixth-year head coach
Tyler Osborne, is set to kick off the 2023-24 campaign Saturday at home against #7 Virginia. The match is slated to begin at 2:00 pm at the Prager Family Squash Facility. Live scoring and streaming links will be available on the Navy Athletics website (Navysports.com). Navy is also slated to play the Bowen Cup, the program's annual alumni match, on Sunday at 9:00 am.
Admission is free to all Navy squash matches. A reminder to fans planning on attending matches, vehicular access to the Naval Academy is limited to those with a Department of Defense identification card. It is suggested that fans park downtown and walk through the main gate. Please note that a government issued identification card must be carried and presented at the gate.
The Ladder
1.
Matt Wang (Jr / Malvern, Pa.), 2.
Henry Sparkman (Sr / Darien, Conn.), 3. Matt Kang (Fr / Malvern, Pa.), 4.
Lucas Spiro (Jr / Buffalo, N.Y.), 5.
Tighe Mullarkey (Fr, So / Locust Valley, N.Y.), 6.
Sean Wu (Fr / Princeton, N.J.), 7.
Ramsay Killinger (Fr / Wyndmoor, Pa.), 8.
Holden Woodward (Fr / Richmond, Va.), ---
Alexander Orr (So / Haverford, Pa.).
The ladder was set on Oct. 20 following the annual week-long Barb Tournament that was won by junior
Matt Wang. The 2023 First-Team All-Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference selection scored a 3-1 victory over team captain
Henry Sparkman in what was Wang's second-consecutive appearance in the finals. Wang lost last year's championship match to 2023 grad and team captain
Millen Randell.
Established in 1957 by the late Admiral Eugene Fluckey, a Medal of Honor recipient, the Barb has seen 43 different midshipmen win the coveted trophy. Sixteen men have claimed ownership of the trophy multiple times with six players (Spencer Wall 84-86, Jamie Slough 92-94, Andy McCann 00-02, Tucker George 05-08, Andrew McGuinness 12, 14-15, Jack Lentz 18-20) winning it three times. Wang will receive a ships clock at the Prizes and Awards ceremony during Commissioning Week and his name will be engraved on the Barb Trophy.
More on the Mids
• Navy finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 16-19 record that included a 2-1 mark at the Collegiate Squash Association Team Championship. Navy opened the season winners of 13 of its first 14 matches, however, an unforeseen medical situation forced the Mids to play the remaining 21 matches on their schedule a man down.
• Navy returns just 4 players from last year's ladder, including 3 (#1
Matt Wang, #3
Henry Sparkman, #4
Lucas Spiro) of its top 4. Meanwhile,
Alexander Orr returns for his second season and settling in at the #6 spot as a rookie.
• The opening-day ladder is expected to shift somewhat, as
Alexander Orr was unable to compete in the Barb Tournament due to injury.
• Orr paced the Mids a year ago with his 23-11 record, producing the most wins by a Navy player since the 2012-13 campaign (27 by Bill Kacergis and Mitch Bottini / 24 by John Richey / 23 by Hunter Bouchard and Andrew McGuinness), as well as the the most by a Navy freshman since Hunter Beck amassed a 23-7 record in 2010-11.
• Navy added five freshmen to its roster this season, including a familiar name,
Tighe Mullarkey. Mullarkey was a freshman at the Academy a year ago and put together a 12-1 record before stepping away from the team to have surgery. Due to the nature of the surgery and the rehabilitation process, he was forced to withdraw from school and in turn, began the Naval Academy process from scratch. He went through Plebe Summer once again this past July and August and will repeat his freshman year.
• Joining Mullarkey in the Class of 2027 are
Matthew Kang,
Ramsay Killinger,
Holden Woodward and
Sean Wu.
•
Henry Sparkman is the lone senior on what is an exceptionally young team that features 1 senior, 2 juniors, 1 sophomore and 5 freshmen.
• Navy begins the season ranked #25 in the College Squash Association Preseasons Rankings released on Oct. 26.
Celebrating 75 Years
• Navy squash is celebrating 75 years as a varsity program, playing its first collegiate match on Jan. 8, 1949 against the Baltimore University Club program.
• Navy's first match against a varsity program was on Feb. 5, 1949 (Princeton // L, 5-4), while its first victory came a week later (Feb. 11) at home against MIT (9-0).
• Since 1949, the Navy squash program has won 3 National Championships (1957, '59, '67), earned 52 All-America citations (by 35 players), crowned 2 Skillman Award winners (top individual award), earned 8 Sloane Awards (team - sportsmanship), earned 2 Barnaby Awards (team - most improved) and had 2 coaches inducted into the College Squash Association Hall of Fame (Art Potter, Dave Brown)
What's Ahead
• Navy will return home to play host to its annual Veterans Day Weekend round robin where a combined 6 men's and 4 women's teams will play in the three-day tournament that begins Friday evening and will be staged at both the Prager Family Squash Facility in Halsey Field House and the Bancroft Hall Squash Courts.
### Go Navy ###
