Since the start of the 1998-99 seasons, the William Smith tennis and squash teams have operated under the leadership of Head Coach Chip Fishback. The Heron tennis team has achieved 10 consecutive winning seasons, while the squash team has grown from a first year varsity program into a top-20 power.
Fishback has a career record of 114-64 on the tennis courts, 12 wins shy of the record set by Mary Hosking, and a 96-91 mark on the squash courts.
The William Smith tennis program has also flourished under Fishback's guidance. The Herons tied the program's single season record for wins in 2001-02 and 2002-03, posting 14 victories. The 2001-02 squad also broke the program's season record for highest winning percentage (.824, 14-3).
Over the past five seasons, Fishback has mentored one ITA National Rookie of the Year, eight All-Liberty League picks, and seven Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team honorees. In addition, Chelsea Rauck ’09 was named the Liberty League Player and Rookie of the Year in 2006.
The William Smith squash program has won at least 11 matches in each of the past four seasons, winning back-to-back Liberty League Championships in 2005 and 2006, while capturing consecutive Walker Cups in 2006 and 2007.
In 2004-05, Fishback’s Herons turned in a 15-5 record, setting the single-season wins record, qualifying for the Kurtz Cup–the B Division of the Howe Cup–and ending the campaign ranked 15th in the nation, the program’s highest ranking.
The 2005 Liberty League Squash Coach of the Year, Fishback has mentored 17 All-Liberty League selections, the 2004, 2005, and 2006 Liberty League Rookies of the Year, and 2007 Liberty League Player of the Year, Katie Hendricks '07.
Fishback came to William Smith after spending five years as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina. Before turning to coaching full time, he taught history and mathematics at Brookings (S.D.) High School, while also coaching tennis, gymnastics, and football.
Fishback is a 1984 graduate of Davidson College, where he played tennis, baseball, and football for the Wildcats. In 1992, he earned a master’s degree in teaching from North Carolina.
