WATERVILLE, Maine --- The Smith factor will be evident for both the Colby College men's and women's squash teams when the 2009-10 season opens Saturday.

The Colby men play at MIT at 2:30 p.m. Saturday while the women face Wellesley at the same time at MIT. The teams then visit Northeastern for a 6 p.m. match.

Samantha Smith, the first position player and captain for the Colby women, is the older sister of number one men's player Harry Smith. The two each earned All-NESCAC second team honors and played in the national tournament a year ago.

Here's a look at each team:

Men's squash:  Sophomore Harry Smith had an eventful first year with the Colby College men's squash team after taking over the first position right from the beginning of the season.        

Smith finished 15-12 in the first position last year and earned the all-conference honor. He finished 2-2 at the national individual championships after helping the Mules finish 19^th in the country.

Ken Cramer will captain the team this year for head coach Sakhi Khan. Alex Fulton, Nat Cooper, and Daniel Lesser also return from a year ago after securing singles positions. Will Sullivan, a first-year player, could play behind Smith at the second position. Fulton, Cooper, and Lesser will play somewhere in the three to five range. William Greenberg, Pete Gabranski, Sky Weiss, and Peter Jones will be in the mix for the lower spots.

Women's squash: Samantha Smith went 17-10 last year at the first position for the Colby women. She competed in the national individual championships and had a 2-2 record while also earning NESCAC honors.

Smith is one of seven players returning from the nine who played the final regular season match last year. Madeline Dufour played at the third spot a year ago and Caroline Reaves was at five. Jae Paik, Kaeley Sheppard, Jessica Kravetz, and Alison Crevi also return.

Molly Parsons could play at the second position for Colby in her first year. Kate Pistel is expected to play at the fourth spot and fellow first-year player Lily Greenberg should play in the top nine.