March 28, 1996Release # S054
Contact: Adam Levin
Sports Information Director
Phone #: (207) 786-6411


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wigton Named to Squash Hall of Fame

LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates College men's squash coach George Wigton has been inducted into the National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association (NISRA) Hall of Fame. He is one of 48 members of the NISRA Hall of Fame, and just the 13th coach to be inducted. Among the other 1996 inductees to the Hall, which is located at the University of Pennsylvania, is former U.S. senator and Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas Brady.

Wigton, who will be retiring at the end of this season, is the only men's coach in the 10-year history of Bates squash. During that time, his teams have compiled a 95-113 career record, going 78-58 in the 1990s. They have won three CBB (Colby-Bates-Bowdo in) Conference championships and the NISRA National Team Sportsmanship Award in 1992. This season's team finished with a 13-11 record and a national ranking of 16th, the highest ever by a Bates men's squash team.

Wigton was presented with the honor by senior co-captains Gardner "Case" Newberry of Shelburne, Vt., and Marc Zuccaro of Wilton, Conn., at the NISRA Team Championships, held at Yale University Feb. 23-25. His Hall of Fame plaq ue reads, "A racquets coach for over thirty years, George is the only squash coach in the history of Bates College. During his tenure, the Bates teams have improved steadily and have become one of the top teams in the Northeast. The Bates teams are known for their fairness, professionalism and sportsmanship: the qualities which George represents. A man of impeccable integrity and perspective, the NISRA salutes one of its most respected coaches."

  • Wigton, originally from Oberlin, Ohio, is a 1956 graduate of Ohio State University. Besides being Bates' only squash coach, he has coached tennis, soccer and men's basketball during his 30-year tenure at the college as well.
  • Newberry is a 1992 graduate of Trinity-Pawling School. He is the son of the Joan Gignoux, 170 Harbor Rd., Shelburne and the late Richard Newberry.
  • Zuccaro is a 1992 graduate of St. George's School. He is the son of Robert and May Jane Zuccaro of 38 Hunting Ridge, Wilton.

    • Located midway between the coast and mountains in south-central Maine, Bates is a 140-year-old undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences and is rated among the top 20 national liberal-arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Bates offers m ajors in 23 academic departments and five interdisciplinary programs. More than two-thirds of Bates students choose to participate on one of the College's 27 varsity teams, nine intercollegiate club teams, or more than 12 intramurals. The College's philos ophy is that intercollegiate athletics offers a unique opportunity for students to learn outside the classroom. Bates is a charter member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and also a member of NCAA Division III and ECAC. NESCA C brings together the following highly-selective liberal arts colleges from New England and New York: Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan and Williams.

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