Blatchford Clyne and Way to Receive USOC Awards at U.S. Open

Olivia Blatchford-Clyne (l) and Mike Way

Team USA’s Olivia Blatchford Clyne and Harvard’s Mike Way will be recognized as the 2017 United States Olympic Committee athlete and coach of the year during the 2018 FS Investments U.S Open.

2017 was the most successful year to date of Blatchford Clyne’s professional career. The New York native entered ranked world No. 27 and finished at No. 12, an extraordinary leap at the elite level. She won her first National Singles title, reached the finals of the Cuidad de Floridablanca, a new tournament in Colombia, the quarterfinals of the Oracle Netsuite Open in San Francisco and the
second round at the U.S. Open. Today, the twenty-five year-old is ranked world No. 16.

Since 1991, the USOC Athlete of the Year has been US Squash’s highest award for achievement in international competition. Eighteen previous athletes have been honored with the award, including last year’s honoree Reeham Sedky.

Blatchford Clyne will be honored on the ASB Glasscourt on the evening of Wednesday, October 10 at the U.S. Open during Women in Sports Day.

For the past seven seasons, Mike Way has been the head coach at Harvard and has led the Crimson to unprecedented heights. The women’s team has won six national team titles during his tenure, and currently maintains a winning streak of three straight titles and fifty-three consecutive dual matches, the second-longest in Harvard’s history. On the men’s side, Way coached the Crimson to a national team title in 2014. In addition, Way has mentored world-class players at Harvard, including current world No. 2 Ali Farag—who won the men’s national intercollegiate individual title in 2012 and 2014—and U.S. No. 1 Amanda Sobhy who went undefeated in college and captured four straight individual titles from 2012-2015. Way also coached Georgina Kennedy and David Ryan to individual titles in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In addition, Farag was awarded the Skillman Award in 2014 and Sobhy the Richey Award in 2015, both for sportsmanship.

Since 1998, the USOC National Coach of the Year has honored the best coaches at the highest levels of the game. Last year’s honoree was Laurent Elriani of the Heights Casino in Brooklyn.

Way will be honored on the ASB Glasscourt on the evening of Tuesday, October 9 at the U.S. Open during Character in Sports Day.

Newspaper WordPress Theme

Latest news

U.S. Squash Foundation Launches Drive to LA28 Campaign

PHILADELPHIA, July 1, 2025 – The U.S. Squash Foundation launched the Drive to LA28 Campaign to provide a significant impact on Team USA Squash, the...

Team USA Targets Pan American Junior Championships Medals in Chile

The eight young men and women representing Team USA at the 2025 Pan American Junior Championships, June 29-July 5, have arrived in Santiago, Chile. The...

Weaver Becomes First American to Compete for PSA World Tour Finals Title

World No. 4 Olivia Weaver became the first American to reach the finals of the PSA World Tour Finals in what will also mark...

Weaver and Amanda Sobhy Bid to Reach British Open Semifinals

Team USA's Olivia Weaver and Amanda Sobhy are in top form this week with both players reaching the Gillenmarkets British Open quarterfinals without dropping...

Stefanoni Set for First Major Third Round Appearance Against World No. 1; Weaver and Sobhy Advance

Marina Stefanoni is through to her first career third round appearance in a PSA Platinum or Diamond event where she will face world No....