In its second season, Chatham men’s squash is seeking its first win after adding several top players, with a women’s team set to join it next season.

Cougars coach Larissa Stephenson said freshman Abdul Malik, of Pakistan, has the potential to be an All-American.

The Cougars, a member of the Collegiate Squash Association, kick off the season Oct. 25 at home against Denison.

“Abdul Malik is a fantastic player, whose goal is to play professionally after college,” Stephenson said. “The access he has here, in the U.S., to other players and to tournaments, makes his goal much easier to realize.

“He is dedicated to becoming a better player, which in turn motivates his teammates. He is the type of person who is excited to be part of a developing program.”

Stephenson said a player of Abdul’s caliber means that almost any top U.S. junior can look at Chatham as a school that has talented athletes and provides a quality training base.

Malik, 20, said several factors played in his decision to join the Cougars.

“I was offered financial assistance, always wanted to go a college about this size and Chatham has a good reputation for its social activities,” he said.

Malik joins sophomore Vinicius “Vini” Muniz, of Brazil, at the top of the lineup, in addition to two Egyptian players, Mohamed Walid Sadek and Alaaeldin Abdelkhalik Gomaa.

Muniz led the Cougars with an 8-2 record last season. The Cougars went 0-10.

Stephenson said Muniz was instrumental in driving support of squash on campus.

Muniz, 20, looks forward to helping the Cougars to their first win.

“The whole team has been working hard,” Muniz said. “The first-years will help the team improve and have a great season. I’m excited for it.”

Five of the Cougars’ 11 players are from abroad, where Stephenson noted that squash is more popular.

“To grow a U.S. college program from scratch, in a school and city that has had a small squash following, I needed to look (further) than U.S. players,” said Stephenson, 36, who came from New Zealand to the U.S. to play college squash. “Once we are established with some solid players, it is easier to demonstrate nationally that we have a serious program, with full support from the athletic director (Leonard Trevino) and president (David Finegold).”

Stephenson said that Finegold, a squash player, is super excited to have squash on campus. Trevino said the athletic department supports Stephenson by providing her with adequate resources to travel and promote the program to high school and club programs.

Freshman Christopher Tejada, 18, of Philadelphia, plays on the Chatham team, having learned the sport through an education program called SquashSmarts. It’s part of a network of urban squash programs that provide tutoring and athletic instruction. The Pittsburgh program, founded in 2015, is called Steel City Squash.

Tejada said growing up in the neighborhood he did, the chance of someone going off to college is rare, especially to play squash. “But SquashSmarts kept me on the right track in the classroom and I began developing a love for the sport,” Tejada said. “When the opportunity to come play squash at Chatham arose, I knew this was my one chance to change the narrative.”

Stephenson said she is recruiting a few players to lead the women’s team for its inaugural season in 2020-21.

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