A Racquet By Any Other Name

Craig Rappaport was a star in racquetball, but is now one of the nation's best squash players As a student at Manheim Township High School, Craig Rappaport did not think much about squash. He was too busy making a name for himself as a world-class racquetball player on the U.S. national team. His junior year, Rappaport took third place in a national racquetball tournament. But during his senior year, he and some friends snuck him into the squash courts at Franklin and Marshall to hit around. Rappaport did not know it at the time, but this was the start of an illustrious squash career in which he would become one of the best college players in the nation. "The Franklin and Marshall coach recruited me a little bit," Rappaport said. "[Penn coach Ned Edwards] also contacted me because of racquetball. But Penn was stronger academically. And I met Ned, and he was a real class guy." Having played tennis and racquetball throughout his high school career, Rappaport had already proven his skill with a racquet. But he had never proven himself on a squash court. And Rappaport was thrown in the fire immediately upon his arrival at Penn. His first experience at the Ringe Courts was against the team captain, Josh Hilton. "Ned threw me on the courts with him, and I got killed," Rappaport said. "I didn't think it was going to be that hard to switch. I realized it was a long road ahead." Rappaport had never seen the wide softball courts that the Quakers compete on and had never even played competitively for a squash team before arriving on campus. Despite the problems, he was able to make the varsity team at the No. 8 position. He experienced a difficult adjustment period during his freshman season and compiled a mediocre record of 6-9. "It took a while for me to get used to Ned," Rappaport said. "He demanded more of me than any other coach." Rappaport experienced one of the worst matches of his career at the end of his rookie season. He was the last player on the court against Cornell, and the match was tied at 4-4. Rappaport lost in the fifth game, and the Cornell players swarmed the court following its 5-4 win. Rappaport vowed never to let that happen again. And he kept his word. He never experienced another losing season. Rappaport went 10-5 during his sophomore year. He also progressed from the No. 6 position to the No. 3 spot on the team. The highlight of his season was beating Trinity's Austin Perkins at the season-ending national championships. Perkins was already a top intercollegiate player at that time and is now the captain of the Bantams. "It was the first time I felt confident in my squash skills," Rappaport said. Junior year brought more changes for Rappaport. Instead of playing the hardball version of squash, all American schools switched over to the softball game, which is played with a softer ball on a wider court. Rappaport was also elected co-captain along with Steve Scharff by his teammates. He compiled his best record of 14-3 junior year, spending the entire season at the No. 3 spot and losing only to Princeton, Harvard and Amherst all season. He also played the best match of his career at nationals, defeating Princeton's Eddie Fishman, 3-1. After losing the first game, he won three straight games to take the match. "It was the first time we took a match off Princeton in years," Rappaport said. The switch to softball squash actually proved to be an advantage to Rappaport. Many of the other top players had been playing hardball for years, and when the change came, Rappaport's own inexperience became less of a factor. While his record of 10-5 is not as impressive as last year's, Rappaport has established himself as a one of the top players in the nation. "When I first came to Penn, I looked up to the top players," Rappaport said. "Now I'm hanging on the courts with them." During his four years as a Quaker, Rappaport has never missed a varsity match. "He's been leading the team since freshman year," Penn junior Carl Sibbern said. "As a captain, he's always there. He's the player all of us look up to. I started out above him [freshman year], but that didn't last very long. He's come a long way." "It's so rare when those things come together," Edwards said. "I think a lot of coaches never have a player like him." Rappaport's improvement has been remarkably quick over the past four seasons. He even spent some time playing at the No. 1 position for Penn this year after starting the season at No. 3. "When Craig first came here, I never expected him to become of the nation's best players," Edwards said. "Every time I see him play, I don't think he can get any better," Penn junior Leif Berquist said. "But somehow, he always does."