Boys’ Squash Dominates Andover in 5-2 Victory

ANDOVER - This past Wednesday, Exeter’s boys’ varsity and junior varsity squash teams competed against Andover, and although the teams were without the “home-team advantage,” the players victored over Andover.Regarding the preparation of the competition, prep Darius Kahan commented on each player’s desire to defeat Andover. “We went in with good spirit looking to destroy Andover because they won Nationals and we wanted to get revenge,” Kahan said. “We approached the match with confidence and a will to win.”Fitting with the team’s attitude before the game, both teams won, 5-2 and 6-1 for varsity and junior varsity respectively.In light of the excellent results, senior and co-captain Nikhil Raman commented on the successful components of the the team’s performance.“I think as a team all of us played some good squash today,” he said. “They managed to win Nationals this year so they came into the match thinking they were the better team. [But] we did a good job of getting on court without any arrogance [yet with confidence] from our previous win and took every point seriously from the start. That's why we beat them again.”Upper Phillip Chang agreed. He said that the serious approach to all games brought the victory. “We really crushed Andover. Each of us played our hearts out and left it all on the court.”Despite the impressive victory, instead of celebrating the team reflected upon all areas in which individual players and the team as a whole could improve.Chang explained that preparing for interschols is the most essential part of the end of the season in which the team needs to focus on.“I think as a team we should continue to refine our game before interschols and get some intense practice in before the tournament,” he said.Kahan added, commenting on specific areas that could be improved. He said that the lack of variety in the players’ shots bring down the quality of the game and emphasized that each player should strive to change the flow of the game. “We should mix up our game and keep the opponents surprised with what shots we are going to hit,” he said.Looking ahead, Raman shared that the players should prepare over vacations and be ready for the next season. “The most important thing is for the returning members to work hard during the spring or over summer. It doesn't necessarily have to be playing squash,” Raman explained. “A good deal of the players that will be returning next year are not fit enough, and going out on long runs will help improve that.”Raman continued and explained that playing is not necessarily what’s needed for current players to improve.“The big thing separating us from other schools is experience. We work hard in practice and we learn fast. But at some point the learning curve starts to steepen and it becomes a lot harder to make progress. That's where fitness and just pure court time comes into play,” Raman said.Kahan agreed with Raman and promised the team’s incessant effort for advancement, whether it’s for the Interschols or the next season.“We are going to train harder, get back in the rhythm, and keep pumping forward,” he said.