In her third year on the varsity girls squash team, sophomore Ava Marseglia has had a profound impact on her team’s success. Playing in the No. 1 spot, Marseglia carries a lot of weight on her shoulders in every match.
Marseglia, who plays in an array of tournaments outside of the school season, understands the importance of the team element of squash. “When just playing in tournaments in the spring and summer, I play for myself,” Marseglia said. “But during the school season, it is much more fun having six other girls that you know you can depend on.”
Watching Marseglia blossom into a wonderful player and teammate is something that truly impresses Head Coach Cameron Biondi. “Ava has been instrumental in how our team operates in practice and matches,” Coach Biondi said. “When she first started on the varsity team, she was very young and inexperienced in the team aspect, and now she has become a true leader.”
Because she has coaches outside of school who focus on her technique, Coach Biondi helps her focus on the mental aspect of the game. He tries to get her and the rest of the team to focus on slowing down the opponent. “The matches don’t have to be as fast as possible, and sometimes taking a moment to catch your breath is vital in the heat of the moment,” he said.
When it comes to gamedays, Marseglia has a unique perspective as the top player. “As the one spot, I try to encourage the entire team and coach my teammates through the matches,” she said. “I am an odd number on the ladder, so I watch the even numbers play first so I can help coach the other team members through their matches.”
This season, Marseglia attained a 14-4 record and won with a 3-0 game score in just over half of those matches. With a lot of memorable moments from the season, Marseglia’s most memorable wasn’t even one that involved herself on the court. “Our comeback win against Pomfret during New Englands was awesome,” Marseglia said. “We originally lost to them earlier in the season, but then we won during New Englands, which was a testament to everyone’s hard work.”
Outside of school, Marseglia competes on a club squash team called MSquash out of Fairfield county. Her team competes in tournaments nationwide as well as globally. “This summer, I went to play in the Italian Junior Open in Riccione, Italy,” Marseglia said. “This was an amazing experience to meet girls from all over Europe, and I grew as a player.”
Looking ahead, she plans on attending numerous college showcases to boost her chances of playing at the highest level.
Only being a sophomore, Marseglia has two more full seasons left and with that time, she has several goals she wants to achieve. “I would love to encourage more KO girls to join squash,” she said. “Serious players from tennis and soccer could benefit from squash because it works hand-eye coordination, speed, and foot skills. I am hopeful that in the next couple of years, we will have a deeper team overall.”
