Captains of the Week: Dorothy Baker, Kate Manderlink, Lucy Weil (Girls Squash)

By LAUREN KIM and LIANNA YANG

The girls’ varsity squash team has enjoyed numerous victories so far this season, and many players attribute the team’s success to their captains’ leadership. This year, the three captains for the girls’ squash team are seniors Dorothy Baker, Kate Manderlink, and Lucy Weil. Along with the excellent guidance from the captains, the team takes pride in their positive team dynamic and significant effort from every player.

Many players said that they would describe their captains as “leaders by example.” Lower Pippa Pflaum said, “The captains get to practice really early and get right on the court to warm up. I get thinking I am early and Dorothy is already on court warming up and Kate is stretching. Their commitment to the team and sport motivate me to show up early and work hard.”

Reflecting on the advice the captains give her, prep Aria Suchak agreed. “They always know what's happening so they can always help us out. And then just besides squash advice, I go to the captains for life advice too. Which I think is really helpful, especially as a younger lowerclassmen.” Lower Ella Brady added, “My captain is really encouraging on court and off court and they give me good coaching.”

When asked to describe the captains’ personalities, prep Paloma Sze described all three as energetic and supportive. “Lucy Weil always has great energy, and she’s super encouraging whenever I play. Dorothy is always on top of making sure everyone is supporting each other, and she always leads the stretches we do. Kate is always the first one on court and she makes practice fun,” Sze said.  

Upper Lally Lavin added, “I would describe their leadership as motivating because they balance working hard with being very positive and cheering… ​​On the court, they are always providing helpful tips and willing to hit with anyone. Off the court, they play music, lead our cheers, and are always fun to hang out with. ”

Manderlink commented, “We try to make it a united team, a unity. We’re almost at the end of the season, we have two really tough matches left for varsity and then nationals, Andover. So I think that having fun is also a big one, especially coming up to the end of the season. We're doing psych sort of something to keep the team connected and motivated and allow teammates to find connections between different grade levels. Like seniors and preps sort of making those connections through the different grade levels.”

Weil added, “I think everybody is super positive and brings good energy. For example, Lally is always very excited to cheer and bring the energy. I think everybody also is just ready to go and happy when they come to practice.”

Aside from captains, the team as a whole strives to win matches, make fun memories, and maintain a cheerful environment. Baker recalled their team cheers: “Something that we do as a team when we play games, is after we do the initial introductions we get in a huddle and we wait for the other team to cheer. Then, after they cheer, we cheer louder and I think that's always a nice tradition.” 

Manderlink extends, “The other day we watched Carolyn win her flight at inter-schools. That was really exciting and memorable.”

Lavin describes a highlight of the squash coaches dressing up, “One of my favorite moments was when Coach Lovey dressed as the Grinch the day before winter break and played in her costume.”

“As captains, we try and stay really positive and energetic and I think that reflects in the team too! When some people are happy, it's like it translates,” Manderlink said. 

Whether it be team lifts or playing challenge matches, regular team practices bring the team together. Baker describes the team meetings they have at the beginning of every practice. “We have a little team meeting where we just chat, and people are usually happy to be there. It is generally a positive environment. Even when we do challenge matches or anything that's otherwise kind of stressful, people still work really hard and they put a lot of effort in,” Baker said. “It's nice to see people get better and grow as a team.”

Agreeing with the improvement the team has made together, Lavin said, “Our practices have been really hard, but also really rewarding. We’ve amped it up to finish the season on a strong note, and I’ve noticed everyone has improved a lot.” 

Pflaum described the challenge matches the team has and the opportunities they have to grow further. “We usually do challenge matches on Mondays which is an opportunity to move up on the ladder. And then, twice a week a professional squash player from Boston comes up to work with us which is a cool opportunity,” Pflaum said. 

In spite of COVID-19 restrictions and the dreary New England winter weather, Baker admires her teammates for always bringing a positive attitude, both on and off the court. Baker says, “I respect how happy people can be in the winter. It's crazy how people come to the court when it's often really snowy and gray outside, but everyone is still smiling. They're still running their hardest. They're still laughing when they're messing up and it's just cool seeing people bring joy to an otherwise very dreary environment.”

“We love the support,” Weil concluded. “We're so excited to be a team, and without COVID this year it's been really good. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”