The transition from high school to college isn't easy for many students. Try making that transition while also coming from another country. Squash player Beni Fisher, a native of Lucerne, Switzerland, did just that four years ago.

“It was tough to learn about a whole new school system when I first came,” Fischer explains. “I had previously never even been to the U.S.”

That doesn't seem to have stopped Fisher too much though – both on the court and in the classroom. Fisher is one of the 10 student athletes this year receiving the Lysle “Spike” Garnish award for both academic and athletic excellence.

It hasn't, of course, been an easy process. Fischer has come up against very practical problems due to his Swiss background. This hasn't seemed to faze him too much – in fact, he's been able to find a pretty good bright side.

“Every day I run into new language barriers, but I guess I'm quite lucky that my girlfriend, who's a native English speaker, thinks they're rather cute than annoying.”

Very much his style, Fischer has been able to meld a laid back attitude with fierce competitiveness and enjoy great success. His style has been the conglomeration of a wide variety of influences.

 “There are lots of people I look up to, some of them for their athletic abilities, others for different reasons,” he explains. “Having many different idols is a good way to incorporate what they are doing well to my game and life.”

On the court, he is one of only two squash players at UR to earn All-American honors for four years. He has made it to at least the round of 16 in the College Squash Association (CSA) championship tournament each year, including making it to the semifinals in 2010.

For Fischer, that success has been due in large part to help he's received off the court.

 “My game has become more versatile,” he explains. “Working together with head coach Martin Heath has been amazing. He's been able to teach me lots of new things that I can add to my game, especially when it comes to my technique. As former world No. 4, he's got lots of experience and chose the way that I want to go, too.”

Fischer's path in the world of squash is only beginning, too. Far removed from the first time he picked up a racket.

“When I was 11, my dad used to play and had a racket lying around at home so I tried it one day and the head coach at the club thought I was talented so I kept going with it.”

Fischer is unique among many Yellowjacket athletes. He hopes, after he finishes one final semester of school this fall, to return to Switzerland and play in the professional circuit.

With such high hopes in the squash realm, it might have been easy for Fischer to ignore his schooling. But the economics major has done just the opposite, as indicated by the Garnish award standards.

He has also proved restrained and professional, despite the competition. Last year, he earned the Skillman Award, given annually to a senior men's squash player who has demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship during his college career. Fischer's favorite professor at UR also embodies this ability to be calm and respectful under pressure.

“Journalism Professor Jim Memmott is a true inspiration for me,” says Fischer. “I've never seen any other professor handle the class room with more coolness and ease.”

That appears to be the same way Fischer has handled his time at UR, both on the court, where he has been up against some of the best young talent in the world, and in the classroom, where he faces the challenge of all college students. Fischer, though, despite these challenges, is just happy to be where he is in his life.

 “It can be hard to still believe in yourself after a bad or a tough loss,” he explains, “but being able to do what I love is priceless.”