GAMBIER — When one thinks of big-time collegiate sports, squash is normally not at the top of the list. It is, however, the Kenyon College Squash Club that has attracted teams from illustrious institutions like Notre Dame, Navy, Purdue and Northwestern to their Knox County campus.

Head coach John Knepper knows that building a winning program is one of the factors will keep the big schools interested in making the trip to Kenyon College.

“Most people in Gambier think that squash is something you buy at the farmer’s market and steam up for dinner,” joked Knepper.

The Lords are fresh from winning Chaffee Cup as the top team in their division, but the 2009-10 season didn’t start off that way. The Lords were 0-3 to begin the season, including a pair of humiliating 9-0 losses to the Midshipmen and Western Ontario.

It was last November 21, coming off that loss to the Middies, when the Lords went to Philadelphia to play matches against Haverford and Drexel that it all turned around.