Photo by Zeyu Zhao ‘27.
By Zellie Calavita ’26
Staff Writer
The Mount Holyoke College Squash team has welcomed a new head coach this year.
Lauren Xaba replaced former coach Erin Robson, who had held the role since the 2012-13 season. A Philadelphia native and University of Pennsylvania alum, Xaba has returned to coaching squash and to become a part of the Mount Holyoke community.
“It's exciting to be joining this group. And the short time I've been here, I've learned a lot and [am] really excited to be a part of a community,” Xaba said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News.
Xaba grew up playing all kinds of sports, including soccer, tennis, basketball and lacrosse. After finding squash, she went on to play the sport at the collegiate level. During her time on the Penn squash team, Xaba was named a two-time All-American squash player, was captain her senior year and helped Penn win the National Squash Championships in 2000.
After graduating from the Wharton School with a degree in business, Xaba moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. It was there that she later founded SquashDrive, a nonprofit organization that provides academic support and introduces squash to students in Oakland and surrounding areas. While living in the Bay Area, Xaba also coached the University of California Berkeley’s Club Squash team for nine years.
In the summer of 2020, Xaba and her family moved to Amherst after her husband was offered the head coach position for the men’s and women’s squash teams at Amherst College. When she saw that Mount Holyoke Squash was looking for a new head coach, she jumped at the chance. “It’s kind of the perfect opportunity to get back into coaching and try it out at … a varsity level,” she said.
“I want our student-athletes and anyone that I introduce to the game to … really enjoy squash,” Xaba said about her approach to coaching. “Squash is … a lifelong sport. So although I love the competition, I think the longer-term goal is I want people [that] play on the team … to have fun with it.”
Xaba’s focus right now is getting to know the team and preparing for the upcoming season. Her priority is to “make sure I can give [the athletes] the proper support they need to be able to perform and … put their best foot forward to represent themselves and our school as best as possible.”
She also recognizes Robson, the former head squash coach at the College, for her work.
“She was really helpful in my transition,” Xaba said of Robson. “I’m really appreciative of her and her time here and giving me the best opportunity [for success].”
Mount Holyoke Squash went 8-14 last year, finishing 30th in the national collegiate squash rankings. Right now, Xaba doesn’t have any result-specific goals but is excited for that to be a focus in the future. Squash’s first match is Nov. 11 against Smith College.