Boys’ Squash Sustains Winning Streak

Exeter Boys’ Varsity Squash made quite the racket this past Saturday in their hard-fought match against Noble and Greenough School. Despite Nobles being the higher ranked team in the league, Big Red was able to snatch a 4-3 win.

The team recognized the importance of being focused and confident. During the matches, “everyone played their own game, focusing on their own success rather than how Nobles was playing,” senior and co-captain Sam Michaels said, adding that the team “played to [their] strengths.”

“We know that the team has the talent to go far this season, but this Nobles match showed us that we can go all the way,” Tan said.

Upper Sam Lew agreed, saying, “Nobles has had a history of beating Exeter squash, but our team stayed confident and, before the match, we were saying ‘Yes, we can beat them.’”

Nobles proved to be a tough competitor. In order to come away with a victory, multiple players had to overcome tough competition, including seniors Don Assamongkol and Henry Tan. “They came in with the right mindset and in the end were able to outlast their opponents by never giving up,” Michaels said.

Assamongkol, seeded fourth on the team, played a pivotal role by winning the match that decided the final winning score. “He played a good game and won convincingly,” senior Weldon Chan said. Chan also commended Michaels’ performance, saying that “[he] played a tough game but managed to scrape a 12-10 win in the fifth game.”

Lew, ranked first on the ladder, commended the bottom half of the varsity team’s brilliant performance. “Four through seven—they all played great and played some of the best squash that I’ve seen this season,” Lew said.

Team members have had more success this season than they have had in the past four years. “We’re all there to hype each other up before each match. Even though it’s an individual sport, we are still very much a team and I think we’ve done a better job this year in bridging that gap,” Tan said.

There are five four-year seniors on varsity, all of whom share support and expertise with the team. Close friends even off the court, they have built the foundation for a successful season by bringing the team together and maintaining a balance of fun and serious competition. According to upper Ryan Xie, the seniors “lead the team well.”

Michaels also commended Lew for his dedication to mentoring the team’s less experienced players. “Sam, being the best player by far, often gives the whole team, including JV, pointers on their squash game,” Michaels said.

Lew, in turn, recognized the team’s seniors for their valuable leadership. With their guidance, “the team has been focused on winning as a team more than winning against each other,” Lew said.

Big Red has won six out of eight matches so far, and has its sights set on the National Tournament at Westminster Academy in Connecticut this weekend. The players are determined to go in with the same level of confidence and focus that allowed them to triumph over Nobles. One of the teams Exeter will be facing at the tournament is Andover. The team is amped for some intense competition with Big Blue.

“The past few years, Andover has beaten us, but Nobles just beat them so we are very confident that we will come out on top,” Michaels said.

“We know that the team has the talent to go far this season, but this Nobles match showed us that we can go all the way,” Tan said.