Who is a Woman Squash Player? A series of profiles asking women squash players: “Why do you play and how does squash fit into your life?”

By Jennifer Gabler

Amy Milanek’s squash life has spanned multiple generations and both coasts of the U.S. Her squash story is also about how a hardball player, who took time off from the sport in college, rebuilt herself into an internationally ranked softball player. And what happens when you find yourself the mother of three? Well, maybe you can’t tour the world as a WISPA pro, but you can grab some national titles and coach professionally. Amy has managed to meld squash into all of the twists and turns of her life.

Amy was taught how to play squash at the age of 10 by her grandfather, A. Willing Patterson, who was a member of three Harvard national championship squash teams and won the National Championship in 1940. Her grandfather was introduced to the sport by his Harvard roommate, Jack Barnaby, the legendary coach who ruled Harvard squash and tennis for seven decades.

Philadelphia, where Amy grew up, has always been a hot bed for squash and Amy was surrounded by adults and juniors focused on the game. Her father’s best friend was Kit Spahr, a national champion and her contemporary was Morris Clothier, also a national champion. Amy spent many winter Saturdays at the Merion Cricket Club in courts she describes as “without any heat and really cold”. Amy played in junior tournaments and was ranked No. 4 nationally in the 18 and under division. During the other seasons, she played field hockey and lacrosse.

Over the past several years, Amy Milanek (R) has made a habit of winning US Championship titles in the 40+ division, as she did in 2006 against Zerline Goodman when the event was last held at Yale.
Over the past several years, Amy Milanek (R) has made a habit of winning US Championship titles in the 40+ division, as she did in 2006 against Zerline Goodman when the event was last held at Yale.

Amy went to Middlebury College (1984-87) when hardball was still the dominant game in the US. She played her freshman year on the squash team but was also a three-season athlete, as she continued to play field hockey and lacrosse. She injured her knee during her sophomore year, took her junior year off to study in Spain and injured her other knee during her senior year. After college, she took several years off from squash to rehabilitate her knees and to explore the western United States with her husband, Blaise Milanek.

While traveling up and down Route 1 on the west coast, Amy and Blaise decided to settle in Santa Barbara, CA. She wandered into the Santa Barbara Athletic Club one day in 1990 where they had just converted two racquetball courts to international squash courts. Amy picked up her racquet again, this time to convert her hardball game to a softball game. She started playing Women’s B level tournaments and worked her way up to the A level. She was very focused on rehabilitating her knees and developing a strong softball squash game. Living and playing in Santa Barbara opened her eyes to squash as a year-round and adult sport.

By 1991, she had completed a great recovery, her knees were healthy and she had advanced her softball game so far that she joined the newly formed WISPA tour. She played in the World Championships from 1991-1997 traveling as far as Johannesburg, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vancouver and Singapore. She also played in the Pan-American Squash Federation Cup in 1994, 1996 and 1997, and advanced her world ranking as high as No. 28. In 1992, she moved to Las Vegas and became the pro at the Green Valley Athletic Club. She started the Bright Lights Las Vegas Open in 1996 as a pro tour stop, and ran this tournament for several years. In 1998, she was on her way to complete in the World Championship in Germany when she became pregnant with her first child. She dropped out of the tour but continued to coach in Las Vegas until 2000 when she moved back to Philadelphia.

Amy and Blaise had two more children in 2000 and 2002. In 2002, she played in her first Howe Cup and brought her third child along who she was still nursing. She began the current stage of her squash life by becoming a pro at Berwyn Squash and Fitness Club, where she coaches both adults and juniors. She enjoys the busy life of being an adult competitive player, coach and mother to three young children. Amy credits her husband’s support as the reason she is able to travel to tournaments and pursue her passion of coaching and playing. All of Amy’s children (Blaise (9), Cassie (8) and Spencer (6)) are athletic, playing basketball, soccer and baseball. They all play squash and Amy gives them lessons, but she wants them to choose for themselves what they want to play. Many times her squash playing and tournament schedule takes a back seat to her kids’ athletic schedules.

Amy has continued her support of women’s professional squash by running the Liberty Bell WISPA event, the women’s pro tour stop in Philadelphia. She has been able to attract the best players, as it is known to be “a fun tour stop in a small intimate venue.” The pro event is held in conjunction with a USSRA sanctioned amateur event, so amateurs can play and see the best players in the world in one weekend.

Looking back at her squash life, Amy loved playing as a junior because of the friendships she made. Squash is a small world and she continues to bump into friends from her junior days at many different events. As a junior, she also honed herself into a competitor. She really enjoyed her days on the WISPA tour, as she loved traveling and meeting new people. Her adult squash experience where she combines family, playing and coaching requires her to pick and choose the tournaments she plays in and how she spends her time in general. She plays in the newly formed Women’s Doubles Squash Association (WDSA) events, singles and mixed doubles events in Philadelphia, Howe Cup and Age Group Nationals where she has won in the 40+ division for several years. What she loves about her adult squash life is how it keeps her healthy and active. She also enjoys the social component and variety of play, as international players try their hand in the hardball doubles side of the game. Squash always was a great way for her to “set up base” in a new town and become connected to a new community as she did in Santa Barbara, Las Vegas and moving back to her hometown of Philadelphia. Her geographic path has brought her full-circle but squash has taken her on many exciting rides.