PHILADELPHIA – Stuart Crawford, assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania's women's and national champion men's squash program for the last four years, has announced his resignation to take over as the head coach of England Squash.
 
"I am extremely sad to be leaving Penn," said Crawford, a Scotsman who has been with the Quakers since January of 2020. "Winning the Potter Cup earlier this year is the highlight of my career, and I'm grateful to all the student-athletes I've worked with over the past few years for the experiences we've shared at Penn. The opportunity to lead one of the strongest squash nations in the world as the English National Coach is one that I'm excited about. I want to thank Jack (Wyant) and Gilly (Lane) and everyone else who has supported me during my time at Penn, for putting me in position to be considered for such a prestigious role. I am confident that I'm leaving both Penn programs in a great place, with many more years of success ahead, and I'll certainly be following their results with interest over the coming years."
 
"Stuart has made tremendous contributions to our program on the coaching front and in recruiting," said Penn's Director of Squash, Jack Wyant. "He has become a mentor to so many during his time at Penn. We are not surprised that England Squash recognizes his value as a world-class coach of both men and women. We are sad to see Stuart go but excited to follow his success across the pond."
 
"Stuart has made a profound impact during his time at Penn," said Penn's head men's squash coach, Gilly Lane C'07. "He has been instrumental in our team winning its first national championship and two Ivy League titles in the last three years. While we are sad to see him go, I couldn't be happier for Stuart and his new role with England Squash. He thoroughly deserves this opportunity and I have no doubt he will succeed. We have all been positively impacted by Stuart and our programs have benefited tremendously from him."
 
The Penn men went 49-6 over the three full seasons that Crawford worked with the program, winning the Ivy League title outright in 2022 and tying Princeton for the crown last season. The Quakers also won their first College Squash Association (CSA) Potter Cup title in March after making the final in 2022. The women, meanwhile, improved to 11-6 last season with an extremely young lineup after .500 records in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. During the last three seasons the teams combined for 11 CSA All-America nods including seven first-teamers; four Ivy League Rookies of the Year; and ten All-Ivy certificates.