Boys' Squash Undergoes Tough Year

Record: 6-9 Boys’ varsity squash had a rather up-and-downseason, working hard to regroup from the loss of cocaptainsJack Blasberg and Evan Gastman. Led bysenior co-captains Hoony Lee, Kelvin Lee and JustinSo, the team pulled out an overall season record of 6-9,which barely put them in the A division at Interschols,in which they placed eleventh out of fifteen teams.Nevertheless, the skill set combinations of theco-captain trio pushed the team to play hard and improve.Kelvin Lee described the qualities of his fellowcaptains. “Justin definitely brought a hard-workingatmosphere to the team. His was a type of attitudewhich not only forced himself to work himself intothe ground for squash, but pushed others to work justas hard. He led by example as our number two,” Leesaid. “Hoony, on the other hand, brought years of experienceand skill that allowed him to finish the seasonwith a near perfect record at the number one spot.”Upper Chanand Sophonpanich recalled that KelvinLee brought a unique set of skills to the squad.“Kelvin was a harmonizing factor for the group. Hemade everyone want to be positive about squash, nomatter what else was happening in our lives at Exeter,”Sophonpanich said. “He made my upper winter bearable,and for underclassmen, he made them want tokeep coming to practice with a fresh attitude.”This year’s season saw large shifts in the ladderrankings. Upper Nikhil Raman raised his level ofcompetition, bringing himself up from spot five tothree on the ladder, while Sophonpanich shot up fromspot twelve on junior varsity at the start of the seasonto spot seven, establishing himself as a solid varsityplayer. Senior Ray Li, who played at spot seven forthe majority of the season, went from being cut hislower year to playing varsity matches his senior yearin what Raman called “the greatest improvement overtwo years I have ever seen.” Raman and Sophonpanichcredited their hard work as the greatest factor in theirown improvement. “I just played the extra minutesby getting to practice early and leaving late,” Ramansaid. “My results improved over the season as I put inmore time.” Raman and rising upper Philip Shin willlead the boys’ team as co-captains during the 2013-2014 winter season.So believes that both Raman and Shin, along withthe other rising uppers, will fill the same types of rolesthat the captain trio was able to fill this year. “Nikhiland Philip bring this great combination of intense playand hard work,” So said. “Nand and Saaketh will bothbring a sort of calm play to the team next year, whileHojung will be an outspoken and energizing player asa new varsity player, despite not being [a captain].”The players, despite significant improvement asa whole over the regular season, let both matchupsagainst Big Blue slip, once midway through the seasonand next in their last match. For the first time inthree years, the boys record fell below the .500 mark.Hoony Lee saw a number of factors that pointed totheir rough performance. “This year we headed intothe season missing a number of players from last year.Last year’s captains Jack and Evan, as well as seniorAlex Bakes, were strong players at spots one, threeand six. In addition, we lost returning high JV playersWill Yu and Gene Chang,” Lee said. “Evan and Bakeswere hard to lose as huge team influences, while Jack’sexperience was a huge factor in last year’s wins. I’mnot saying that just their skill mattered. The fact thatwe lost them made a huge impact on our confidence.Returning players entered the season being not completelywhere they needed to be mentally.” In-gameconfidence seemed to be a swing factor in matches.Four of the losses throughout the season came downto a few points.Co-captain elect Shin reflected on how they couldmake up for the loss of three of their top four playersfor next year. “When you break things down, I thinkthere’s a certain issue with our team looking at thingsin terms of losing and gaining players. We will alwaysbe losing players by graduating them. Next year is nodifferent: six of our seven varsity players will graduate,”Shin said. “What matters is what we make of thetools that are given to us.”Next year, the boys’ team will get a chance towork with these “tools” and prove themselves as maincontenders at Interschols. The majority of the teamhopes to opt during the fall term in order to prepare fortheir season, in addition to putting in a large amountof summer preparation. Head coach Freddy Brusselstated that the game comes down to a number of factors.“Fitness, mentality, game strategy and shots areall key factors in a win,” Brussel said. “In the end, it’sgoing to be about how much time that the team putsinto the sport. We will come into the next season asthe underdogs. Dedication is what can launch us toour wins.”Kelvin Lee stated his belief that the season nextyear will be just as difficult. “After losing the threeco-captain seniors who made up three of the top fourspots, next year’s team will face a lot of difficulties.Whether it is inspiring dedication on the court, motivationalenergy outside the glass during matches,or the simple camaraderie of the team on the longbus rides, everyone on the team will have to help therest of their teammates with whatever problems facethem,” Lee said. “I hope that every guy will step up."