Girls Varsity Squash Dominates St. Marks

By Sam Alderman, Jacob Creelan, and Harry Walker

On Feb. 8, the girls’ squash team traveled to St. Mark’s School and came away with a dominant 7-0 win. Despite some recent struggles, the team rebounded with a statement victory. Sweeping their matches, they improved to a 3-6 record for the season. 

Prep Tiffany Sun reflected on the match. “The season has been good, many of our opponents so far have been very strong schools, and even so we have put up a good fight against them.” 

Upper Lucy Lukens added, “We have had some tough matches this season, so I think it was really great for the team to take this win before interscholastics and nationals. 

Overall, the girls’ squash team has had a rocky season with many ups and downs, however, team morale has remained high. The win against St. Mark’s was coming off a tough loss to Milton Academy. However, they bounced back with this win. 

Sun said, “We played well and really demonstrated improvement. Coming away with such an outstanding win greatly improved the team’s morale.” The match was a much-needed boost, with the New England Championships looming ahead. 

Coach Mercy Carbonell commented on senior and co-captain Grace Puchalski’s especially exciting match, which ended with a triumphant victory for the team. “Grace played an opponent who was feisty, who ran for everything, who was unpredictable. Grace lived into her reputation and her name: she was calm and figured out that all she needed to do was to work within the basic principles of the game.”

Leading up to the New England Championships, the team is eager to succeed. “From the beginning of the season, we’ve all improved so much. Everyone is really excited for the championship and we are all rooting for our teammates there,” lower ShaoShao Tang said. 

Carbonell also expressed her admiration for how hard the team has been working to improve. “They show up every day to work hard, to offer their enthusiasm for practice drills, to change their game, and to support those around them.”

Lukens added a new perspective. “New Englands is always an exciting tournament, but between some injuries and absent players, I think we are more optimistic about Nationals the following weekend.”

Throughout the season, the team has stayed very supportive of each other and really bonded throughout the year. “When we have games away or at home, there’s usually a couple of people still playing. Everyone will come to watch them play. It’s very supportive and everyone cheers them on,” Tang said. 

As the season comes to a close, many players are grateful to have shared so many great memories with their teammates throughout the course of the year. “One very fun memory from the season was having fun on the sometimes long bus rides back from away games,” Sun explained. 

Tang talked about how the players have also enjoyed each other’s support throughout the year. “We had our last home game over the weekend and one of the seniors was playing a game. It was a very intense game and it was the last round and everyone went and cheered her on. It was a very cool moment.”

Lukens highlighted some remarkable moments from the season. “I think our most memorable matches were those with the whole team because it is really great to see our full ladder on the court. Some other favorite activities were two truths and a lie and our speed-walking race.”