Chris Fernandez is in his second season as an assistant coach with Columbia Squash. He joined the Columbia staff after two years as the head squash coach of the Chatham University men’s and women’s programs.
The Chatham women were the Most Improved Team in the CSA in 2022-2023. The men’s program won the award in 2021-2022 under Fernandez. Prior to his time at Chatham, Fernandez served as the head men’s and women’s squash coach at Dickinson College and was the youngest varsity head coach in the history of the College Squash Association.
Fernandez grew up in New York City, where he attended the Canterbury School in Connecticut. He was recruited as a two-sport athlete in squash and baseball to St. Lawrence University. After graduating, he returned home to New York to work at the same program that introduced him to squash in middle school, serving as the Director of Squash at CitySquash for several years. There, he had the responsibility for the mentoring of over 120 youth athletes through squash. Fernandez also spent time as the head coach of the women’s club team at Fordham University in New York.
Fernandez had successful high school and college squash campaigns. He earned a scholarship to the prestigious Canterbury School in Connecticut and set the record for most wins with a career record of 64-6, winning two New England championships in the process. He was then recruited by the coaching staff at St. Lawrence University, where he was a four year starter and team captain that helped St. Lawrence improve from 15th in the national rankings to achieving three top-10 finishes. His team achieved the highest ranking in school history of No. 2 after making the finals of the 2015 CSA Team Championships.
Fernandez also walked onto the Saints’ baseball team, leading the team in batting average, extra-base hits, and hits in his senior season. After college, Fernandez went on to represent the Dominican Republic as the No. 1 player at two Pan American Squash Championships.
Fernandez holds ample leadership experience to supplement his squash expertise. Not only is he currently a board member for Squashwise, an urban program in Baltimore, he has also served as a committee member for the Squash and Education Alliance. Additionally, he has served as a faculty leader for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a Title IX Coordinator Committee member.
Fernandez earned his degree at St. Lawrence with a major in performing and communication arts and a minor in sports studies. He holds a Level 1 Coaching Certification.
