Boys’ Squash Falters Against Deerfield
Exeter boys’ squash suffered a tough loss at their away game against Deerfield Academy on Wednesday. Although many of their matches seemed to be tipped in their favor, they still came home with a losing score of 1-6, getting beaten by the fifth best team in the country. Their season record now stands at 8-5.
Co-captain and senior Rex Tercek said that the team knew, heading in, that it was going to be a hard matchup. “Even though the final score didn’t reflect it, I think it was fairly close,” he said.
“In summary, the chances were there for a win—we just didn’t convert them into results. In that sense, we have had some bad luck this year, or just bad focus.”
Co-captain and senior Will Ettinger explained that the team lacked endurance. “Our shots were there and our minds were in the game, but at the end of the day, they put us in long rallies and we gave up too many points.”
Both Tercek and Ettinger commented on upper Darius Kahan’s impressive performance. “[Darius] knew from the moment he stepped on the court that he was better than his opponent, and he didn’t give him any space to breathe. He fed off his weaknesses,” said Ettinger.
Senior Sam Tan, who plays seventh seed, remained positive about the match, and said, “The most memorable thing was just seeing [senior] Mike Kacergis play against Deerfield’s first seed, as both of them are incredible players and it was a really fun match to watch.”
Tercek commented on his disappointing match. “I had a bad loss. I personally thought it was one of my worst matches of the year, and my opponent was definitely beatable. Both Torrey and Gautam, as well, could have won,” he said, explaining that the results of the yesterday’s match did not reflect the strength of the team.
Tercek reflect on the missed opportunities, saying, “In summary, the chances were there for a win—we just didn’t convert them into results. In that sense, we have had some bad luck this year, or just bad focus.” The same pattern of lost focus applies to previous losses throughout the season. “Oftentimes our losses come down to a couple points or a couple close matches that, most of the time, could have been won,” Tercek said.
However, the boys are still determined to perform well at their Interscholastic championships this coming weekend. “As we head into New England’s, we are going to give it one last, hearty push and hope that we can convert our chances into strong wins and end the season on a high.”
Most of the members on boys’ varsity squash this year played the previous season at PEA, with only the first-seeded postgraduate Mike Kacergis new to the roster, allowing the team to be comfortable playing with each other. “We all knew each other pretty well from the start, and the team dynamic was good throughout the season. We all pushed each other to work harder during drills and fitness,” Ramesh said.
Reflecting back on the season, Ramesh said, “my favorite moment was when Mike Kacergis came back from 2-1 down to win against St.Paul’s.”
Although Kacergis is sad to be leaving the team, he is happy about the season and optimistic about what is to come next year. “The season has gone great. [There were a] lot of great performances by everyone,” he said. “A few big shoutouts to [upper] Myles Haigney and [lower] JP Kim. Both of these guys worked really hard and moved way up the lineup throughout the season.”
Haigney, now seeded 8th, moved from 16th seed; Kim, now seeded 16th, moved from 26th seed. These are a couple of the notable boys that improved on the team, and they should both be strong varsity contributors next year.
Looking ahead to next season, Tercek said that the transition will be a rocky one. “Varsity is losing five players, so it will be up to the remaining two, as well as the JV lowerclassmen, to really work hard over the course of the next year.”
Ettinger echoed Tercek’s concerns, but said that looking beyond his time as a senior player was difficult. “Whether or not we get any ringers again next year, the season isn’t about winning national championships; it’s about fighting hard to beat teams we’re not expected to in the regular season. I’m proud of a lot of the fight I saw this year, and I think that it’ll be here next year as well.”
Boys Squash plays Andover Wednesday, Feb. 24. The boys will close their season this weekend at the Class A New England Interscholastic Squash Championships.