HATFIELD, Mass. - The Bard College men's squash team has been named the recipient of the 2016 Sloane Award for team sportsmanship, the College Squash Association announced Wednesday.

According to the CSA web site, the Sloane Award is given annually to the team that, as judged by their peers, best exemplified the ideals of sportsmanship throughout the season. The team characteristics this award represents may be described in the words of former William College coach Clarence Chaffee, who said, "a sense of esprit de corps, of sportsmanship, of hard but fair play, of being gracious in victory and defeat, and enjoying the camaraderie and pride of being part of a team."

The nation's coaches are asked to discuss possible nominees, then to e-mail their candidates to the CSA Executive Administrator. Voting was completed online before the recent national championships.

"It's a great honor and I'm absolutely delighted for the team," said Bard coach Craig Thorpe-Clark. "It's true recognition that we're doing the right things on and off the court. We're proud because it concurs with the recent success we've had, even though the award has nothing to do with winning."

Thorpe-Clark and the Raptors recently completed an historic season. They won 11 matches, shattering the previous program record of eight in a season, and won the Serues Cup Consolation Championship with a victory over Boston College at the CSA Team Nationals at Yale. For Thorpe-Clark, who coached previously at Penn and Vassar, this award is a real milestone for the program.

"I consider the sportsmanship award as being what collegiate athletics is all about," he said. "In 20 years of trying, winning it with this bunch of kids is a great feeling and a tribute to them."

The list of previous Sloane Award winners can be found here.