Athlete of the Week: Lizzie Wei

As a black squash ball flies across the court and ricochets off of the walls, senior Elizabeth Wei prepares for her next move. A hushed crowd sits rapt in front of court one, all of them focused on Wei, but her face reveals neither nervousness nor tension. She stands composed and balanced, and when the opponent returns the ball, she swings her racket with a snap of her wrist, driving the ball straight to the back corner. The game then concludes: once again, Wei has won the match.

A four year member of the girls’ varsity squash team, Wei has been one of the strongest athletes of the team since her first year. She has not only been a leading scorer, but also the number one player of the team for four years. Perhaps the reason why Wei was able to manage her position for such a long time was because of her previous background with squash. She first got involved in the sports when she was ten years old.

“I tried a lot of sports like swimming, tennis, lacrosse and gymnastics, but fell in love with squash. Luckily, my parents were really supportive and took me to lessons and tournaments,” Wei said.

“[Lizzie's] constant demand for perfection at practice and matches motivates the whole team to focus and improve over the season.”

This passion for the sport Wei developed at such an early age has been an effective stimulus for every team member.

“I’ve never seen anyone as dedicated to a sport as Lizzie is,” senior Dana Tung said. “Her constant demand for perfection at practice and matches motivates the whole team to focus and improve over the season.”

Lower Serena Cho echoed Tung’s sentiments and added that Wei’s presence and zeal influences the team’s performance significantly.

“I think the reason we’re beating so many teams that we lost to last year, such as Brooks and St. Paul’s, is because Lizzie is there to make everything perfect and motivate everyone to practice hard for every single practice and every single shot,” Cho said.

Wei added that spending time with the team brightens up her day and enlivens her.

“I love how close we are as teammates and as friends. We’re very focused on improving not only ourselves, but also each other. The team’s amazing energy and bad jokes during practices always cheer me up after a long day,” Wei said.

She also commended the mental toughness and team spirit this year.

“I’m also really proud of the team’s mental game this year. There have been a lot of great 5-game matches, and comebacks when someone is down in a game or 0-2 in a match,” she said.

However, her teammates attributed their success to Wei. The athletes especially emphasized Wei’s four years worth of dedication and work as the team’s only captain.

“I really don’t know how to put this into words of how great of a captain she is,” Cho said. “She’s the only captain this year so it’s a challenging task this year because there’s no other person to help her with other stuff. She manages to do everything so perfectly just by herself.”

Although squash really depends on the individual, lower Kate Haering commented on the importance of team continuity and how Wei has facilitated that.

“[She is] someone our age to look up to, someone you can be friends with who’s also your mentor, and Lizzie’s perfect for that because she’s dedicated and really good at squash. She gives us pointers and is the one getting everyone together for a team run, but is also someone you can laugh and hang out with.”

Many members of the team also praised Wei for her abilites as a player. Upper Bronwyn Shields said, “Lizzie’s definitely a great leader and she’s really nice to be around and she’s a really good coach. I haven’t been playing for long and she’s totally willing to help me work on my shots and everything I need help with. Especially the mental game—she gave me a pep talk before my game because I didn’t want to play my opponent.”

Prep Alyssa Kuwana said that she is grateful for Wei’s fervor and commitment to the sport and the team.

“Due to her love for squash and the team, she is always willing to help other players get better,” Kuwana said. “Whenever I ask her to work on something, she makes time for me and gives the right tips to help. Even though she’s a quiet person, she’s still a great leader. She leads us on our warmup run and stretches, and before each game, she asks us what we’re going to work on.”

The girls’ varsity squash team coach Frederic Brussel praised Wei’s character and her influence on the team, but also spoke highly of her athletic abilities.

“Lizzie is a hard worker always looking to improve our game. She does this by practicing her strokes, always [being] willing to listen to what others may say that can help her. How she has grown is that she is more willing to listen and more willing to speak to others. She no longer seems to be hiding from others, she is directing them.”

According to Wei, her most memorable squash moment was when the team won Nationals and Interschols in their division last year.

“Winning our divisions at Interschols and Nationals last year was awesome! I think it was because of our team unity. Although squash is technically an individual sport, some of my favorite moments are when we’re cheering each other on and coaching each other,” she said. She looks forward to this year’s Nationals and Interschols as well.

Wei has specific plans for this season. Currently, she is training the team in agility and footwork.

“We’re practicing our footwork on the court. There are a lot of naturally fast girls on the team, but it takes a lot of practice to be able to build up endurance, quickly change direction, and not overrun the ball. So this year we’re ghosting during our warmups every day.”

Wei takes up many roles on the team. She is a role model, a sister, a friend and an athlete. She fulfills every responsibility perfectly, and is inevitably and understandably admired by all members of the team.

“I love Lizzie. Please quote that. I love Lizzie,” Cho said.