Team USA’s Elite Athlete Program players Todd Harrity, Chris Hanson and Olivia Blatchford have risen to career-high world rankings this month, moving up to world No. 46, 69 and 27 respectively.
For the second consecutive month, Harrity is ranked in the world’s top fifty, moving up to forty-six from a previous career-high of forty-nine in March. The twenty-five year old from Wayne, PA, bolstered his world standing with an impressive run to the quarterfinals of the 35k Montreal Open as a qualifier in early March.
The Princeton graduate’s career-high ranking follows up his second S.L. Green U.S. Men’s Championship title in a row last month.
Dartmouth graduate Hanson began March as the Wild Card in the world series Windy City Open against world No. 3 Nick Matthew. The twenty-five year old then reached just his second PSA final in the 10k Atlanta Open.
Hanson’s month had an unfortunate ending following another strong tournament run to the semifinals of the 15k Manitoba Open, where he picked up an injury that ended his tournament and forced him to withdraw from nationals.
Chris Gordon remains the second highest ranked American male, dropping two places from world No. 57 to 59.
On the women’s side, Blatchford records a second consecutive career-high ranking, improving one place her previous career-best from March of world No. 28 to 27.
The twenty-three year old appeared in two world series main draws in March, first as the wild card in the Windy City Open before qualifying for the Allam British Open.
Team USA’s highest-ranked player at world No. 8, Amanda Sobhy, dropped one place from a career-high world No. 7 last month. In reaching the quarterfinals in both the Windy City Open and British Open, the twenty-two year old qualified for the season-ending $160, 000 Women’s Dubai PSA World Series Finals, May, 24-28.
All four players are supported by the US Squash Elite Athlete Program. The EAP supports elite athletes in their goals to reach their full potential as competitors and achieve their highest world ranking. It provides meaningful assistance, allowing players to succeed in both training and competition. The EAP also provides the foundation for the working relationship between athletes and US Squash.