Girls’ Squash Drops First Match of Year

Girls’ squash opened the season with a loss on Wednesday to Groton Academy, falling 0-7 in a sweep of the varsity team. The top fourteen made the journey this week over to Groton, and while few prevailed, the team was able to take solace in the fact that most, if not all of the games were decided by only a few points.“It's definitely disappointing to lose the first match of the season, or any match. But today doesn't define the rest of our season,” upper Josie Russ said. “For me, the best part is riding to the games and bonding with the other girls on the team. And I see a lot of potential in our team! We are going to have a great season, improving at every practice and learning from our mistakes.”“I thought that the opening of the season didn't go as planned,” prep Alyssa Kuwana said. The squash coaches told the girls that it would be “an easy win” so it was a surprise when Groton turned out to be as strong as they were. Although they lost, they are playing Groton again this weekend. Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and win this time around,” Kuwana added.Even though the game did not go well, there were still “some bright spots,” since “everyone cheered each other on and when we were done with our own matches, we watched our teammates play and supported the team,” as Kuwana said.“I thought that it was great to give them words of encouragement during their games, and it felt like we were very close. Even though we didn't win today, our team came together and supported each other which in my head was a 'win,'” she added.“Today we were able to bring the entire team to Groton when normally it would just be the top 14, upper Alix Hunter said. “It was a great experience for everyone, especially for the new girls to get a taste for interscholastic competition.”Although Exeter did lose, it was “not in vain.” Hunter said everyone “went home with something they want to work on in the coming weeks” and the team plans “to take this as a learning experience and move forward this season.”Girls' squash returns to Groton this weekend for a tournament where they will square off with many teams they play later on in the season. They hope to be able to play their way into a full day of matches starting at 1:00 PM.