Chris Hanson '13 and Nick Sisodia '12 were named to two of the College Squash Association All-American teams on Friday. It was the first All-American honor for both players.
Hanson was chosen for the first team, while Sisodia was named to the second team.
Hanson played at the No. 1 spot for the Big Green and compiled an 8-3 record in his debut season. He is the first Dartmouth freshman to be named an All-American since Ryan Donegan '05, who received the honor in 2002. Of Hanson's three losses, two of them were to other first-team All-Americans.
"My goal for the year was to make second team," Hanson said. "I thought if I did well at the Individual Championships I'd have a chance, but actually making [first team] was a surprise and definitely a huge honor."
At the CSA Individual Championships, Hanson played in the Pool division featuring the top players in the tournament. He won in the first round before losing in the second round to fellow first team All-American Antonio Diaz Gonzalez of Trinity College.
The loss placed Hanson in the second round consolation draw, where he excelled. In his three wins en route to the consolation title, Hanson beat two second-team All-Americans and pulled off a three-game victory over fellow first-teamer Hywel Robinson of Yale University.
Sisodia played at the No. 2 spot for Dartmouth. His 6-4 record was an improvement from last year, when he went 5-5 playing from the same position.
"It's a huge honor," Sisodia said. "It's one of the individual goals you set at the beginning of the season, and it feels great that the work has paid off."
Sisodia joined Hanson at the CSA Individual Championships, also competing in the Pool Division. He was eliminated in the first round after a loss to eventual champion Colin West of Harvard University.
Still, like Hanson, Sisodia played well in the consolation bracket. The sophomore notched four wins on his way to winning the first-round consolation draw. His performance improved with each match, as he was taken to four and five games in the first two matches, respectively, before easing to a three game win in the semifinals. In the finals, he put in a strong performance, dominating first-team All-American Supreet Singh of Trinity in an 11-0, 11-0, 11-0 victory.
Sisodia expects the team as a whole to improve next season. After the squad climbed to No. 7 in the country this year, Sisodia said he thinks the team can push for a top five finish next year.
"Everyone gains a ton of experience after each season, and we plan to continue improving next season," Sisodia said. "Unfortunately, we're going to miss our captains Michael Shrubb ['10] and Daniel Wagman ['10], but it's good that our ladder is made up largely of '12s and '13s."
Hanson said he also believes the team will improve from its 2009-2010 season's performance.
"This year, we finished strong and all the guys did well against Western Ontario," he said. "We should pick up where we left off next season. We are losing two seniors, but we're also getting two new guys, and hopefully they'll fit right in and compete for the top spots. Hopefully we can beat Harvard and Cornell, too."
As the team's top two players, Hanson and Sisodia often play each other in preparation for big matches. Still, they maintain that any rivalry is friendly and that they play each other for motivation.
"[We] are great friends, and I have a lot of respect for him," Hanson said. "He's a great player, and, between us, I guess there's a friendly rivalry. His play definitely motivates me to work hard." Sisodia agreed, echoing Hanson's sentiment.
"Chris is an extremely hard worker, and we always have competitive matches," he said. "Having competitive challenge matches that transfer into game day was huge for the team's success this year."
Hanson said that their mutual respect comes from a tradition of team unity they work hard together and all of the players are close.
"The chemistry is amazing," he said. "We have the strongest team in terms of friends in all of college squash. There are no intense rivalries, and there's a great team dynamic."
