On Friday, Feb. 1, the girls squash team won the division five national championships. This tournament consisted of 16 teams from across the northeast region. The Wyverns were ranked in the top four going into the weekend and were hoping to bring home the championship that eluded them two years prior, as they came in second.
KO was supposed to face Nardin Academy, which is a high school in Buffalo, on Friday but Nardin was unable to make it, so the Wyverns won by default. The girls squash team then faced SquashSmarts, which is a program in Philadelphia, and won by a decisive 6-1 margin.
Head Coach Cameron Biondi said he was especially proud of senior Co-captain Cami Berckemeyer and junior Amelia Levine who were able to win very close 3-2 matches.
Later that same day, the team faced Moses Brown, a school from Providence, Rhode Island, in the semifinals, where they were able to win 6-1.
Coach Biondi said he was very happy with his team as they had multiple convincing victories.
In the last day of the tournament, the Wyverns found themselves in the finals against Buffalo Seminary.
The Wyverns won 5-2 and were able to bring some hardware back to KO
Coach Biondi said he was pleased with how both his teams played and how they supported each other. “Numbers two, three, and four didn’t lose the entire tournament,” Coach Biondi said.
He was also very happy that his team was given an opportunity to compete together in a tournament opposed to how New Englands is formatted. “Nationals is a team tournament vs. New Englands, where each person has their own mini-tournament,” Coach Biondi said. He believes that this national tournament, especially winning it, brought the team closer together, refined their skills, and gave them great confidence heading into the back half of their season.
The girls squash team then faced Berkshire School on Wednesday, Feb. 6, where they were unable to pull out the victory, losing 4-3. Similarly on Thursday, Feb. 7, the Wyverns faced Miss Porter’s School where they lost 4-3. Coach Biondi said that these matches would be good interpretations of what New Englands’ would be like: close and hard fought.
On Monday, Feb. 11, KO played host to Loomis Chaffee School where they won 5-2. Sophomore Sloan Duvall had a decisive 3-0 victory and senior Co-captain Ananya Alleyne was able to win a rivalry match against a close friend to whom she had lost in November.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, the girls squash team hosted Green Farms Academy for their senior day and were able to go out in style, winning 7-0. “We were able to enjoy our last home match, and the underclassmen gave great speeches,” C. Berckemeyer said.
On Thursday, Feb. 14, the Wyverns faced off against Hopkins School where they were unable to come out with the victory, losing 6-1. Despite the scoreline, Coach Biondi was happy with his team’s performance, especially considering that they were missing their best player, sophomore Sydney Smith, which forced everyone to play higher on the ladder than they were accustomed to. Still, Alleyne was able to win her match, playing against Hopkins School’s best player in the No.1 spot.
On Wednesday, Feb 20, the wyverns had their last match before New England’s against Williston Northampton School where they won dominantly, 7-0.
Coach Biondi said that there were convincing wins across the board and this match surely helped boost the team’s confidence before New Englands.
On Saturday, Feb. 24, the squash team traveled to New Englands where they were able to place eight out of 16 teams. Stand out performances were by sophomore Isabel Berckemeyer and C. Berckemeyer who both placed fourth in their brackets.
