EA Squash Director Demer Holleran left an impressive mark as a three-sport athlete at Princeton University. She has been named one of the Top 25 Greatest Athletes in Princeton University History.
"My long-time mixed doubles partner texted me to let me know," chuckled Coach Holleran. "I guess he got his magazine earlier than anybody else and wanted to congratulate me."
Demer played on Princeton's varsity field hockey (defense), squash, and lacrosse (goalie) teams.
"It was sort of what I was used to," she explained. "In high school [Phillips Exeter Academy], I played three sports, and it didn't really occur to me that there was another way to do it. I just thought you go to sports in the afternoon, and I really liked my teammates; they were terrific."
Demer recalls her best practices were playing with the Exeter boys' squash coach saying, "that helped me get better because there weren't many people I could play with. I could beat the boys' team by my senior year."
While at Princeton, she won the individual Intercollegiate Championship in 1986, 1987, and 1989, and also helped lead the undefeated Tigers to national and Ivy League titles. In goal for the lacrosse team, her squad reached its first Final Four.
"I felt like there was a lot of cross-over with my other sports and squash in terms of movement and the defensive mindset. You're not going to let anything get through!" shared Demer. "I was able to really zone in on whichever sport I was in at the time."
"It was hard as a senior when I put off writing my thesis until after squash season," she explained. "During spring break with the lacrosse team, I was sitting in the bathroom writing my thesis and everyone else was taking a rest. I remember working very hard on it because I had put it off to prioritize my squash."
Demer recalls stepping onto the squash court with her father when she was four or five years old. She played in her first tournament at 11. Tennis, soccer, and paddle tennis also topped her list of favorites. "I competed on my school's varsity badminton team in 8th grade. I was invited to play up and played number one on the team, so that was pretty fun," she shared. By her early teens, Demer was winning the U15, U17, and U19 national squash tournaments.
"You get a lot from playing other sports that you don't get from just playing one sport all the time," reflected Demer. "Now, can you imagine any squash player taking off for three months? They would just never do that."
After graduating in 1989 with a degree in economics, she hit the pro circuit. Her proudest accomplishment was winning the U.S. Women's National Championship from 1989-1999 and went on to win more than 20 World Women's Doubles Championships, the World Mixed Doubles Championships (1996), and four silver medals in the 1995 and 1999 Pan American Games.
Her highest World Ranking of #21 came in 1993.
"It's nice to be recognized by people who were not aware of my accomplishments," smiled Demer. "Squash has been a lifelong passion, and I'm grateful to be supporting the next generation. I am so honored to be named a Top 25 Princeton athlete."
Demer served as the Head Squash Coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1992-2001. In 2017, she joined the coaching staff at EA as the Director of Squash.