The Hobart College squash team returns to the court this weekend, Feb. 4-5, when it heads to Canton, New York, for the 2023 Liberty League Men's Squash Championship hosted by St. Lawrence University.
 
With the addition of Denison University as the Liberty League's sixth squash member, the format of the championship has changed. The six-team men's championship will consist of two three-team pods. Each team will play two matches against the other teams in its pod before advancing to the championship round, which will feature fifth-place, third-place and championship matches on Sunday. Hobart will be in Group B with the hosts and Bard. Group A will be made up of Rochester, Denison and Vassar.
 
The Statesmen enter the tournament with an 8-8 overall record. Hobart moved up one spot to No. 21 in the College Squash Association Team Rankings following a 6-3 victory over then No. 20 Colby last weekend. Hobart already has wins over Vassar and St. Lawrence this season.
 
Hobart will take on Bard Saturday at 2:45 p.m. and St. Lawrence at 5:15 p.m.  The fifth-place and third-place playoff games are scheduled for 10:15 a.m. Sunday. The Championship match will be at 12:45 p.m.
 
Fans can follow all the matches through St. Lawrence's tournament page.
 
Here is a quick look at Hobart's pod:
 
ABOUT THE STATESMEN

• Junior Omar Kiwan leads Hobart with 11 wins. He is 2-1 at No. 1 and 9-4 in the No. 2 spot.
• Sophomore Joseph Raskin Lantos is second on the team with nine wins. He is 6-4 at No. 9.
• Junior Sebi De La Vega has played the other 13 matches at No. 1.  He has five wins.

 
ABOUT THE SAINTS

• St. Lawrence is 22nd in the latest CSA rankings.
• The Saints are 5-6 overall.
• Lewis Anderson and Inwoo Lee share the team lead with nine wins each.

 
ABOUT THE RAPTORS

• Bard is 34th in the CSA rankings.
• The Raptors are 1-4 overall on the year.
• Artemy Mukhin leads the team with five wins.