As the 2023-2024 winter season comes to a close, the girls varsity squash team has a lot to be proud of. Facing off in thrilling matches against fierce opponents, the team has overcome adversity, learning many lessons along the way.
Although their record did not reflect how hard they worked, they played a jam-packed schedule, which gave the young team a lot of experience. January saw nine matches, with five of them being decided by two or fewer games.
“Most of our matches during the year have been really close, in terms of it always coming down to one player,” Head Coach Cameron Biondi said. “That brings a lot of pressure and the more chances you have to do that, the better you will get.”
To round out January, the Wyverns faced off against Suffield Academy for the third time, previously winning 5-2 and losing 4-3. Seventh grader Valerie Perkins ran circles around her opponent, allowing a quick and easy 3-0 win. Sophomore No. 1 Ava Marseglia only surrendered a handful of points to her opponent leading also to a 3-0 win.
Senior Captain Illiana Brett dropped the first game but settled in after that and stuck to her game, leading to a 3-1 victory. Despite this, the rest of the team struggled against the rest of the Suffield line up, resulting in a 4-3 loss.
While on most squash teams every time the No. 1, 2, and 3 players compete in a match, each one is a toss up, for Marseglia and Perkins, this was not the case, winning a combined 75% of their matches. Their dominating presence was surely felt every time they stepped on the court.
Moving into February, the Wyverns competed in the New England Championships. Located at Pomfret School, the girls competed in the Class E division. To open up the tournament, the girls walked over a Westover team that was not ready from the start, with Perkins and Marseglia winning their matches in just a matter of minutes.
Other contributors included sophomores Lia Prahl and Sanya Sadiq who sealed the deal for an easy first-round victory 5-2.
In the semifinals, only Pomfret School stood in their way of a championship berth, which would be the first in four years. The team was determined to win. Per usual, Marseglia, Perkins, and Brett won easily, but the bottom of the lineup struggled against a persistent Pomfret offense.
With the match score being 3-3, the deciding match was up to Sadiq. The whole building crowded around the court, yet she did not back down. In the final game, she pulled away for a monumental win.
“Seeing Sanya have that moment was just so special because she had worked so hard to get to this point all season long,” Coach Biondi said. “She never gave up, and when you go down a game like she did it is very easy to lose confidence but she stayed strong.”
The girls would move on to play the next day in the final, just barely losing to Ethel Walker 4-3, but they took out plenty of positives from the experience.
To end the year, the girls traveled to Philadelphia to compete in US squash nationals, where they played against teams all across the country.
“I always enjoy traveling to Nationals,” Marseglia said. “It is fun for the whole team to meet teams from across the country. Not only do we work hard during Nationals, but we always bond even closer as a team.”
Overall, the girls squash team has had a successful season full of exciting matchups and glorious wins and we can’t wait to see what they will accomplish next year!
