Trinity’s 1955 squash captain still has it

By Bob Mulaney ’55, M’62, ’70

L to R: Ken cucuel, opponent inthe final match; Kevin Klipstein, CEO of U.S. Squash; Wade Close '55

E. Wade Close, Jr. ’55, of Pittsburgh, returned to campus during the weekend of March 13-15 and captured the National Senior Squash Championship in his age bracket. Wade had also accomplished this feat in 1994 and 1995. For over 30 years, he has been ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Throughout the three-day tournament, Wade’s years of experience and weeks of determined preparation became apparent. More than any of his three opponents, he used his skillful and energetic play to dominate the center of the court. He was also able to preserve his energy, maintain his balance, and vary his strokes and the placement of his shots. Consequently, Wade’s opponents were required to play the entire court, exhaust themselves, lose their balance, and generally play reactively rather than proactively. Wade always had enough left for the limited occasions when somewhat of a comeback was needed.

For the first time, this tournament was played under the new rules, whereby each serve results in a point, and 11 points are required for a win, except in the event on a 10-10 tie when two consecutive points are needed.

On Friday, Wade won his match 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4. On Saturday, it was 11-0, 11-4, 11-5—and on Sunday 11-4, 11, 5, 12-10.

The entire tournament, however, was not just about competing and winning—nor was it just about sportsmanship and athleticism. It was also about making new acquaintances and renewing age-old friendships. It was about women and families as well as men, and occasionally, on an uninvolved court, it was about a five- or seven-year-old showing off his surprising skills—or about a grandson playing against his grandfather—undergraduate championship teammates hosting, refereeing, scoring, rooting for their coach. It was one helluva good time!