Since the start of the 1998-99 seasons, the William Smith squash and tennis teams have operated under the leadership of Head Coach Chip Fishback. The Heron squash team has grown from a first-year varsity program into a top-20 power, while the Heron tennis team has not recorded a losing season in his 21 years as head coach.
Fishback has a career record of 222-189 on the squash courts and a 252-135 mark on the tennis courts.Â
William Smith squash won back-to-back Liberty League Championships in 2005 and 2006, captured the Walker Cup in 2006 and 2007, and took home the Epps Cup in 2009, 2013 and 2018. In the 2015-16, the Herons logged a 17-9 record and finished third in the Epps Cup, notching a program record for wins in a season.
In 2004-05, Fishback’s Herons turned in a 15-5 record, then a 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 35 All-Liberty League selections, the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2018 Liberty League Rookies of the Year, 2007 Liberty League Player of the Year Katie Hendricks '07 and 2018 Player of the Year Gabby Fraser '20.
The William Smith tennis program has also flourished under Fishback's guidance. In just his fourth season with the tennis program, Fishback guided William Smith to a 14-3 (.824) record, breaking the program record for season winning percentage and tying the mark for wins in a season. The Herons also notched 14-win seasons in two of their next three campaigns.
During the 2010-11 season, Fishback broke the wins in a season record with a 16-4 mark that included a third place finish in the Liberty League. This season, William Smith posted a 14-7 record and a 6-2 mark in the Liberty League. William Smith was the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Herons defeated Ithaca 5-0 in the first round before falling to second-seeded Vassar in the Liberty League semifinals.
Fishback has mentored one ITA National Rookie of the Year, his charges have earned 50 All-Liberty League awards, and 30 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team selections. In addition, Chelsea Rauck ’09 was named the Liberty League Player and Rookie of the Year in 2006 and Hannah More '17 was named the league's Player of the Year in 2016.
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.
