The Hobart and William Smith squash teams will participate in the Squash and Education Alliance's 25th year celebration this weekend. The teams will kick off the weekend with a dinner at an alum's house Thursday evening. On Friday, the Herons and Statesmen will watch the Tournament of Champions at Grand Central Terminal. Saturday evening the teams will attend the SEA Gala, and Sunday morning the Herons and Statesmen will face Fordham at 10 a.m.
 
SEA is the umbrella organization for urban squash and provides youth programs that combine squash, academics, mentoring, travel, college support and career readiness. The programs enroll more than 2,500 young people in 23 U.S. cities and five locations abroad. 95% of the program's U.S. graduates go to college.
 
William Smith has four current players that came from urban squash programs. Junior Jo Pacheco and senior Karina Lazaro played for CitySquash (Bronx), and senior Djeneba Ballo and first-year Aye Bah were members of StreetSquash (Harlem). The Hobart squash team has two former urban squash players. Sophomore Eric Molina played for CitySquash and sophomore Quran Davis was a member of Racquet Up (Detroit).
 
"SEA is enormously grateful that Hobart and William Smith will be so well represented at our network's 25th anniversary celebration in New York City on Jan 18," said SEA's Executive Director Tim Wyant. "HWS has been an exceptional partner to our network, providing an exceptional college education to graduates of our programs year after year."
 
The Herons and Statesmen will play Fordham on the Lombardi Squash Courts in Bronx, N.Y.