The Hobart and William Smith squash teams will open their 2026-27 seasons this weekend, Oct. 30-31, when they welcome St. Lawrence and Bard to the Smith Squash Center. Friday's matches against the Saints are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., and Saturday's matches with the Raptors will start at 11 a.m.
 
This weekend also marks the beginning of the Tyler Smith era at HWS. Smith was named the head coach for Hobart and William Smith in April. He comes to Geneva after spending the last year at Portland Community Squash. Before that, Smith served as director of squash operations at Colby College. An accomplished player, Smith won U13 and U17 national championships.
 
"As we head into this season, our focus has been entirely on building a strong foundation rooted in trust, authentic relationships, and a unified team culture," Smith said. "For both the Statesmen and the Herons, it's about instilling daily habits of hard work, accountability, and consistency. We are challenging ourselves to lead by example in everything we do, on court, in the classroom, and across campus and I couldn't be more excited about the commitment and energy this group is bringing every single day!"
 
STATESMEN LOOK TO BUILD ON YOUNG CORE
 
Hobart returns 10 players from last year's squad that won three matches and finished third in the Conroy Cup at the College Squash Association Team Championships. Sophomores Adam Le, Caio Paiva, and Gabriel Garcia headline the returning group, finishing the year with seven wins each.
 
Le and Paiva played all of their matches in the top two spots. They both had three wins at No. 1 and four wins at No. 2. Pavia earned second team All-Liberty League honors in 2026.  Garcia played primarily at No. 3 and No. 4.
 
Billy Gantcher and Peter Vorbach are the only seniors on the roster. They'll be relied on to provide mentorship to a young roster.
 
HERONS LOOK TO NEW FACES AT TOP OF THE LINEUP
 
William Smith returns eight players from a squad that won four matches and was fourth at the Liberty League Championships last season.
 
Junior Danielle Dezart is the Herons' top returner with six wins playing in the middle of the lineup. Fellow junior Kimberly Javier was right behind her with five wins. William Smith has just two seniors on a roster.
 
Six newcomers will play an important role for Smith as he looks to replace the top three spots in the lineup following graduation. Among the losses is All-Liberty League selection, Jada Smith-Padmore.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
 
Following Saturday's match, HWS will be off until Nov. 21 when the teams head to Poughkeepsie, New York, to take on Hamilton and Vassar. The Statesmen and Herons will then close out the 2026 portion of their schedule at home against Denison on Dec. 6. St. Lawrence will host the Liberty League Squash Championships Feb. 13-14 in Canton, New York.  The CSA Individual National Championships are scheduled for Jan. 22-26 in New York City, while the CSA Team Championships will be February 26-28 in Philadelphia.