Monday Night Squash: Chelsea Piers CT

10 high school girls traveled to Chelsea Piers CT in Stamford to take on Darien High School as part of the Fairwest League season. Volunteer/mentor Katie joined us, making an effort to travel to see mentee Cindy play in a formal squash match outside of StreetSquash.

Spread onto three courts, the StreetSquash team proved to dominate over Darien. The girls won 5 of the 7 matches counted towards the final score (5-2), and took another 2 in the exhibition spots at 8 and 9 to leave with a final record of 7-3 for the day.

Other highlights included ping pong, playing three-quarter court on the hardball doubles court, and seeing former World #1 Natalie Grainger giving a lesson and hanging out at the courts.

Congratulations to Cindy, Djeneba, Ajayla, Emma, Fatou, Kianna, Zeinab, Jaylene, Kiran and Aye on well played matches!

Aye, Cindy, Fatou, Djeneba, Emma Jaylene, Zeinab, Kiran, Kianna, Ajayla and mentor Katie huddle up outside of Chelsea Piers CT after their big win over Darien squash!

High School Ladies travel to Harrison

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking 7 of our high school girls to compete in the Fairwest Tournament in Harrison, NY. Though it was a small tournament (only 3 other teams in our draw), the competition was fierce. In the first round, we came up against a fellow urban squash program, Squash Haven. This match came down to the wire, with StreetSquash leading 3 matches to 2 and two matches left on court. Thankfully, Joetta and Leslie R. both kept calm and sealed the deal with 3-1 and 3-0 victories respectively.

After the well-earned victory, we had some lunch and a few naps, before getting back on court against Rye High School for the finals. We knew this match would be tough, as Rye had beaten their first-round opponent (Darien) 7-0. Nonetheless, our StreetSquashers put up a tremendous fight. We knew that our number 1 and 2 players would have a tough go of it, as Rye’s top 2 were both top-ranked players in the U.S. However, our strength is in our depth, and that proved true over the course of the matches. In the end, we fell 5 matches to 2, taking home 2nd place.

All the girls played with resilience and class, and it was noticed by opposing teams’ coaches and parents. I’d also like to give a particular shout-out to Samia, who pulled off a hard-fought 5 game victory, winning 14-12 in the fifth, against a tough Rye opponent.

All in all, it was a great day of squash, and an important precursor to High School Nationals in a couple of weeks. Congratulations to Joetta, Nakayla, Cheyenne, Leslie R., Emma, Samia, and Harriet for their hard work this weekend!

–Will, Squash Coordinator 

Samia, Leslie, Nakayla, Emma, Harriet, Joetta and Cheyenne enjoy their hard-earned lunch break after their big win over Squash Haven!