The LHS grad is a member of the GW women’s squash team.
By: Jim Green
One doesn’t have to be a 6-foot-8 forward or a 250-pound lineman to be a collegiate athlete. It isn’t even necessary to play varsity sports in high school.
Just ask Lawrence native Abby Markoe.
Markoe graduated from Lawrence High School in 1999, never having played a sport above the junior varsity level. Of course, there aren’t many opportunities for a squash player to compete scholastically.
That’s right. Squash. While most her peers were on the softball fields or the basketball courts, Markoe was playing squash with her father, Andrew Markoe, who had a club membership at Princeton University.
Abby Markoe never dreamed of becoming a college varsity athlete. But that’s exactly what she is now, as a charter member of the first-year George Washington University women’s squash team.
"Never, not at all," Markoe said when asked if she ever thought of playing college sports. "When I talk to my friends, I kind of joke with them about how I’m an NCAA-certified athlete. It’s fun.
"I never would have expected it."
Markoe’s main focus in high school was academics. After all, her only team-sports experience was playing for the Lawrence girls soccer junior varsity team.
When she arrived at George Washington as a freshman in the fall of 1999, Markoe’s only athletic ambition was to continue playing squash recreationally. There was no varsity squash program, anyway, so she signed up to play with the men’s club team.
At the time, George Washington had begun building a new gym.
"They told me to wait, because the varsity (squash) team was starting as soon as the gym was done," Markoe said.
But Markoe did not dwell on the idea of playing for the expected squash team. Most of her attention was tied up in designing her own major, entitled ‘The history and philosophy of medicine.’
But, shortly after the beginning of her senior year last fall, Markoe read an advertisement in George Washington’s school newspaper that would forever alter her college experience. George Washington’s new gym, the Lerner Health and Wellness Center, was complete, and the school’s inaugural women’s squash team was in search of players.
"I jumped on it," she said.
For the first time in nearly four years at George Washington, Markoe could call herself a true Colonial. The sport she learned to love playing almost exclusively with her father had now given her the title of NCAA athlete.
"I just wanted to play on a team," Markoe said. "It’s been really good playing with people my age.
"But I still love playing with my father. He’s the reason I started playing."
Markoe, who hadn’t played organized sports since competing for the Cardinals soccer team, is now receiving interview requests, wearing team apparel and going on road trips to face some of the best squash players in the country.
"It (the transition to varsity athlete) hasn’t been that difficult," Markoe said. "Our coach (women’s squash coach Sarah West) has been good about it. She knows we (the Colonials) didn’t plan our schedules around being varsity athletes."While there has been plenty of excitement, there also have been predictable growing pains for the first-year program. The Colonials are 0-3, having lost 9-0 in each of their three matches.
"I get discouraged," Markoe admitted. "The girls are so good that we play against. But we all see ourselves improving, which is exciting."
The challenge of competing against more experienced squash players has forced Markoe to set modest goals for herself this season.
"It would be great to win a game," she said. "Before a match, we (the Colonials) set a goal of how many points we want to win. Everybody understands we’re a first year sport."
The Colonials’ efforts have not produced wins, but they have paid off in other ways. The development of the varsity squash program has sparked an interest in the sport that can be felt throughout the university.
"So many more people are coming to play (squash)," Markoe said. "And the courts are really busy.
"It seems to be getting more popular day-by-day."
Markoe’s focus remains trained on achieving a career as a professor of medicinal history. But she also knows the experience of playing varsity squash is one that always will stay with her.
"Everybody who knows about squash knows it’s a game you keep with you until you’re old," she said.
In the meantime, though, Markoe is helping set a foundation for the George Washington women’s squash team. And the man who introduced her to the game has provided support every step of the way.
"He (Andrew Markoe) is coming to every single match, no matter where it is," Abby Markoe said. "My mom (Ruth Markoe) says he’s always talking about it. I think he’s really proud of me."

