As collegiate teams prepare for the upcoming squash season, two of CitySquash college students are stepping into new roles as captains. Senior Jesse Pacheco will co-captain the Cornell University women’s squad and junior Myriam Kelly will help lead the Bates women’s team for the 2013-2014 season. Jesse and Myriam are the second and third CitySquash team members to captain a college team; last year, Edgardo Gonzalez led the Hobart men’s team that finished 5th in the Conroy cup and 29th in the country. Cornell and Bates, which finished 6th and 10th in the country last year respectively, are expected to be at the top of the rankings again this season.

Myriam is particularly excited to be leading the Bates team alongside another urban squash player, Rakey Drammeh from StreetSquash in Harlem: “I think what is great is that Rakey and I really complement each other as captains. We can’t wait to lead our team to a strong finish this year.” Jesse also has high aspirations for her team this season: “As captain my goal is to have our team work together seamlessly, using effective communication with one another and by constantly motivating each other in order to have another successful season. We have so much potential this year, and our goal every year is to outperform our competitors, especially those teams ahead of us in ranking.”