GRANVILLE, Ohio—Denison University Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Nan Carney-DeBord announced that men's and women's squash will become varsity sports at Denison in the 2021-2022 academic year.  The announcement was originally schedule for last fall but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Both the men's and women's squash teams competed in one match in the spring of 2021 but the 2021-2022 season will be their first full season as a varsity sport. The move from club to varsity brings Denison's total number of varsity sports offerings to 26 with 14 for women and 12 for men. 

"Denison squash has a long and rich tradition as a club program and we are thrilled that both will have the opportunity to compete at the varsity level at Denison," noted Carney-DeBord.  "Coach Anckermann has done an incredible job over the last three years developing the program for this moment in time. I am extremely excited to see where she will take both programs. We believe the sky is the limit for Denison squash."
Denison's men's and women's squash teams will continue to be coached by Pamela Anckermann who is currently in her fifth year leading both programs.  Anckermann was a world class squash player who was the No. 1 player on the Guatemala National Team for 12-straight years.  She attended Mount Holyoke was the team's top player helping them rise from No. 27 to a No. 11 national ranking.

"I feel honored to be leading the squash program at Denison University," said Anckermann. "It has been an amazing journey and I'm so proud of what both teams have accomplished so far. We are ready for the transition and will continue to represent Denison at the highest levels of competition. I also would like to thank both the athletic department and the administration for their support, enthusiasm, and effort to make it happen."

Intercollegiate squash is governed by the Collegiate Squash Association (CSA). The season runs from November through late February culminating with national championships in early March.  In the 2019 season, Denison's women's team finished the year ranked No. 35 in the nation after posting a 7-5 record.  They advanced to the semifinals of the E Division before falling to Northeastern University. They were the No. 3 seed in the draw, earning an 8-1 win over Colgate University in the quarterfinals.

The Denison men finished 9-13 and were ranked 36^th in the final CSA men's poll.  They competed in the E Division for the Chaffee Cup this past weekend and suffered a narrow 5-4 loss to Northeastern in the quarterfinals. The Big Red did come through the consolation bracket with wins over Bard College and the University of Chicago to place fifth in the final Chaffee Cup standings. In 2015, the Denison men's team won the Chaffee Cup.  The men's program recently celebrated its 25^th year as a highly competitive club sport at Denison.

Both Denison teams will compete against some of the nation's top academic institutions and nationally ranked squash programs at Harvard, Trinity, Princeton, Yale, Virginia, Stanford, Columbia, Williams, Vassar, and NYU.  Denison home matches will continue to be held at the Mitchell Center, which is home to four international-sized squash courts.

Denison's 26 varsity sports are the most offered by any institution in the North Coast Athletic Conference and is tied for the most varsity sports offerings by any Division III college in Ohio. In 2019, women's fencing became Denison's 24th varsity sport.  Since 1997, Denison University has added softball (1997), women's golf (2006), women's fencing (2019), and men's and women's squash (2021).