Maddie Ruggie ’24 started playing tennis at a young age, but at ten years old, she picked up a squash racket that she hasn’t put down since. Although everyone in her family played tennis, she made the transition to squash. Her love for the sport drove her to commit to Denison University, a division three school in Granville, Ohio. Ruggie said she is “super excited to continue playing squash in college because of the amazing educational opportunities and the people [she’s] met throughout playing.”
Although Ruggie has a “genuine love for the sport,” the recruiting process was challenging. At first, Ruggie was unsure if she wanted to continue to play squash in college and had “one foot in and one foot out of the recruitment process.” Throughout her emailing with coaches, she found it was a “tough process and it really tests your love for the sport and commitment to becoming a college athlete.” Though she experienced hard times and was often discouraged, her family and friends were there for her to rely on. Specifically, Ruggie said that her mom was her number one fan. Ruggie was also the only female student playing on the male squash team during her junior year at Poly. She shared that being a part of the male team helped her advance her playing, as well as the “physical and mental” aspects of the game. Ruggie felt that she was truly dignified and enjoyed her time on the team, stating that she “wouldn’t change the experience for the world.” Her participation on the Poly Prep squash team led her to play for the US Nationals and, although she wanted to quit, her mom was able to encourage her to “push [her] limits.” Ruggie explained that, with her mom’s help and encouragement, she “played for a last US title, and that was the tournament [she] got recruited at.”
Ruggie wasn’t only an exceptional student-athlete during the squash season but she has been a two-season athlete since freshman year. In addition to playing squash most of her life, Ruggie started playing lacrosse during her freshman year to “maintain a healthy balance within [her] athletic life,” as well as take part in a “more lighthearted sport than US squash.” For Ruggie, squash was much more intense than lacrosse because she played “squash at a United States national level.” Although Ruggie made the decision to pursue squash, playing lacrosse opened more athletic doors for her. Ruggie participated in college lacrosse showcases but ultimately “found that the sport [she] wanted to pursue at the collegiate level was squash.” Within the Poly Prep community, Maddie has proven to be a valuable player, and no one will be surprised when she makes that exact impact on Denison’s women’s squash team.
