"Vinay was one of the most exciting players to play at F&M. He possessed a complete game of precision drops and lobs, a deadly overhead into a dead nick and controlled power when required. Vinay wore down his opponent by moving him to the extremes of the court with his shot selection and accuracy. He had a quiet demeanor on the court, but was fiercely competitive with impeccable fairness," said Head Coach John Stallings.
That statement is high praise for any player to receive from a coach with whom he will share the Hall of Fame induction stage. The praise is even higher when you take into account that Coach Stallings mentored 30 All-Americans during his time leading the Diplomats in their golden era of success.
Earning two of those All-America honors under Coach Stallings, Vinay Asthana '99 certainly had a distinguished career. After transferring to F&M as a sophomore, Asthana went on to earn All-America honors during both his junior (second team) and senior seasons (honorable mention). He finished his career with an overall record of 69-23, recording a .750 winning percentage.
Even before reaching the level of All-America status, Asthana found himself gaining notable victories against the likes of national powers from Williams, Penn, Yale, and Dartmouth during his sophomore campaign. The news of Asthana's transfer to Franklin & Marshall was certainly welcomed by the Diplomat community, as he first enrolled at Rochester and handed F&M one of its few defeats on the year while competing against the Diplomats.
Having him in the Blue and White was certainly much more pleasing to the Diplomat faithful as he competed near the top of the ladder from the early stages of his F&M career. Asthana's career winning percentage ranks him eighth all-time in program history. He also holds the ninth-highest win total despite just three varsity seasons. Asthana's 1997-98 season, during which he earned his first All-America recognition, was particularly strong, as he posted a 27-5 record. That mark
still stands as the fourth-most wins in a single season in program history. Asthana was 19-1 in dual meets for the Diplomats that year, highlighted by a win over the No. 2 seed in the USSRA National 25 and Under Championships in Los Angeles, where only his brother and F&M Hall of Famer in his own right, Vineet, could provide him a challenge.
Asthana followed that up with a 17-5 dual record as a senior on his way to earning Team MVP honors. Playing in the United States Squash Racquets Association (currently known as U.S. Squash), Asthana was a top-three ranked player in the under-25 division during his senior campaign. Franklin & Marshall had quite the powerhouse built during those years, as all three of those top-ranked players were either current members of the varsity team or alumni of the program. Playing in the single division of college squash, the Diplomats' captain had key victories against Rochester, Cornell, Penn, Yale, and Williams, among others, during his senior campaign.
The team's success was equally important to Asthana as he led the Diplomats to a Hoehn Cup Championship in 1997 and a Summers Cup Championship the following year. Following his graduation from F&M, where he earned his degree in accounting, Asthana worked in New York as an Audit Manager for both Deloitte and PwC. He has since moved to the United Kingdom, where he worked for Standard Chartered Bank, before joining the team at Citi. Also spending time in India throughout his professional career,
Asthana currently serves as the Director of Risk and Control Transformation after previously holding the roles of Senior Vice President and Director of Quality Assurance within the Internal Audit division.
