Boys’ Squash Looks to Continue Improving Their Game

A tiny black ball rockets off prep Darius Kahan’s racket with a flick of his wrist. His opponent sprints to the ball, which ricochets off the wall like a bullet. With that point, the boys’ varsity squash team ended the regular season with their second trouncing of the Andover team.

Indeed, the 5-2 and 6-1 victories over Andover were not the only marks of Big Red’s impressive term on the courts. Boys’ squash faced many formidable schools, including Deerfield, Groton and Milton. Although Exeter did not conquer them all, they fought many close battles and won quite a few admirable landslides. Unlike some schools, Exeter does not readily recruit players for squash, so the team had to work persistently, all while maintaining its determination to thrive as it did. Near the end of the season, Big Red placed fifth in its division at the US High School Squash Team Championships and finished off the year 15th overall in New England.

“Exeter squash had a strong season this year. Facing the loss of seven seniors from last year, it was definitely going to be a rebuilding year,” upper Philip Chang said. “Led by our two captains, Nikhil and Philip, we worked diligently to improve our games, and played quite well against other schools. We were able to improve from last year's record, despite losing so many seniors, and that speaks volumes for both our work ethic and talent.”

Chang continued, highlighting that the season was not just about work. “With a great group of seniors: Philip, Nikhil and Hojung, not to mention our prep Darius Kahan, we had a competitive, and immensely fun season.”

Prep Darius Kahan, who reached the #2 spot on varsity, reiterated Chang’s beliefs. “For a team with no recruits, our season was a great success. Even though we were unable to pull off many wins at Interschols, we were in the A division and were sometimes neck-to-neck with our opponents,” Kahan said. “The team improved throughout the whole season and kept up with the quick pace of our competitors.”

Lower Will Ettinger agreed. “The season went great. Not to say that we thought we were going to lose, but none of us went into the season thinking that we were going to be the best team in the league,” he said. “We put a lot of effort into the season, and what really makes the year special is that the entire roster cared about every point they won and lost.”

Although the results of this season may have been outstanding, team members noted that there were many little things that could have made the difference in their ranking. A couple point differences determined Exeter’s 3-4 loss against Milton Academy, the Penn Charter School at nationals and at various matches throughout the season.

“The season went pretty well, and it was better than expected. At Interschols, we did not have a great showing, since we got 15th, but the team knew going in it would be difficult. We are proud that we finished above Andover at Interschols,” senior co-captain Nikhil Raman said. “It is tough to consider, though, that it was literally a difference of a few points here and there that made the difference between 15th and perhaps 10th. But that is how it works. We worked hard in practice day in and day out, and we never fail to improve quickly during the season.”

Now that the winter is over, Exeter’s players and coaches are looking for ways in which the team can develop to have an even more triumphant season next year.

Raman offered his thoughts on refinements that could be made. “The team needs to focus on playing a lot of squash from here on out because experience is what will get us to the next level: plain and simple hours on the court,” he said. “I think the season started pretty slowly at the beginning of the season, but by the middle of the season we were doing a lot better because we had developed a lot of confidence in our own abilities.”

Raman also noted the importance of watching fellow teammates as a way to enhance one’s own skill. “At last we truly believed towards the end of the term that we were a match for whoever stepped on the court,” Raman said. “I look to fellow senior Hojung Kim as a prime example of this, someone who stepped on court and played good squash with anyone, day in, day out.”

Kahan agreed with Raman’s advice for the team next season. “We can improve by taking practices more seriously and fighting harder during matches. As a team, we have many skilled players who will continue to be valuable assets to our ever improving team,” Kahan said.

Coach Freddie Brussel also looked to the less experienced team members as a channel for future development, in addition to other values. “We will need to improve on our fitness and shot selection, and I do feel we have a good group of players that are willing to work on their game to improve for next year,” Brussel said. “As long as I have been here, someone comes back the next year to surprise me with their improvement.”

All in all, this winter was a season filled with advancement and perseverance for boys’ squash, and they hope to continue through next year.

“Everybody wanted to get better, push a little harder and prove themselves in the end,” Ettinger said. “It is hard to single out one player, because improvement is all relative, but everybody stepped off court at the end of the year completely different players.”