Unusual Courts Throw Off Boys' Squash Game

CONCORD, NH – While Saturday was a warm and humid winter day in Exeter, Big Red’s boys’ squash played a difficult and demanding match on the chilly courts of St. Pauls. The team fought with energy and motivation, but the improving St. Pauls’ team was able to best varsity, showing in Exeter’s 2-5 loss, while Big Red’s junior varsity pulled out a narrow victory of 4-3.“The score line sometimes doesn't reflect how close the match actually was,” senior team member Albert Kim said. “Although we lost 2-5, there were matches we could have won had we played only slightly better.”Upper Philip Chang agreed that Big Red should have performed better, and he also pondered the reasons why Exeter did not meet its potential. “I feel like as a whole our team did not play as strong as we have been playing. St. Paul's courts are vastly different than ours at home, and it was difficult adjusting to them,” Chang noted.Despite the change in location, the team as a whole still did their best to switch their game plans for the unusual courts. “The courts at St. Paul's School were very different to Exeter's, however, our players did well to adapt without any preparation time,” prep Darius Kahan said.Another challenge Big Red faced was the two week span of winter break, in which some players were not able to practice their skills at the same intensity of their daily practices at school. With only a couple days of training before the match, it’s likely that much of the team was still trying to get in their groove to perform with the most grace and skill. Winter term is always difficult for sports teams, seeing that they train for two weeks, then have two weeks off, and come back expecting to execute shots at the same level. Nevertheless, Big Red squash must turn its attention to upcoming matches and address how the team can better prepare for them.“To start turning our season around, we need to practice harder and get that slight edge over our opponents,” Kim said. “We have the time, and we have the drive, and I believe our season will begin to improve over the next few weeks.”Exeter’s upcoming matches will be against very talented teams, so the players are as driven as ever to practice with tenacity and enthusiasm. “We have some tough matches laid out ahead of us, but I think if we continue to train hard and work on our game strategies we'll find success,” Chang commented.Kahan shared similar sentiments. “As a whole, we have been improving throughout the season and will continue to present challenges to our opponents. If we continue at our rate of improvement, we will be sure to give the next few schools a run for their money,” he said.Big Red faced Milton Academy on Wednesday, and is looking forward to a challenging battle with Brooks Academy the following Wednesday, a team Exeter narrowly beat 4-3 in 2012.