The Sacred Heart Greenwich Varsity B squash team attended the 2020 National Interscholastic Team Squash Championships.  The Championships took place February 14 to February 16 at the Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island.  The Varsity A squash team competed in the 2020 United States High School Team Squash Championships. The event took place February 21 to February 23 at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. 

Both varsity teams are under the direction of Mrs. Celia Pashley, Sports Specialist.  Mrs. Pashley began coaching squash at Sacred Heart in 2013, and later accepted the position of Sports Specialist and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the start of the 2015 academic year. 

“We keep practices tough but fun, I think there is a great atmosphere within the squash community at Sacred Heart and we hope as coaches that we are a part of why players want to play squash and keep improving,” Mrs. Pashley said. 

Mrs. Pashley is a former member of the French National Team.  She has appeared in multiple National and World Championships.  Mrs. Pashley is also the assistant coach for the United States Under-19 National Team.

The Varsity B team finished first overall at the championship tournament, winning all three of their matches.  The Varsity B team defeated St. Paul’s School by a score of 6-1.  The team progressed and upended the Moses Brown School junior varsity team 7-0.  Finally, Sacred Heart defeated Tabor Academy 7-0.

The Varsity B team is made up of seniors Cameron Calcano, Georgia Ferguson, Grace Nemec, Arielle Uygur, and Julia Welsh, sophomore Nicole Mayer, and freshmen Mackenzie Coleman, Sophia Morales, and Kourtney Ulmer.  Georgia appreciated the team’s hard work to prepare for the tournament. 

“Leading up to Nationals we definitely focused on our technique and endurance,” Georgia said.  “Squash is not an easy sport and you have to maintain a certain level of fitness in order to play your best.”

The Varsity A team entered their Championship tournament with the number four seed, the highest ranking in school history.

The Varsity A team captains are seniors Erin O’Connor and Katie Keller.  In addition to Erin and Katie, the team consists of junior Mary O’Connor, sophomores Regina Finn and Annie O’Connor, freshmen Claudia El-Masry, Sabrina Schwarz, and Madeline Schwarz, and eighth-grader Caroline Fouts.

The Varsity A team triumphed William Penn Charter School by a score of 6-1.  In the second round, the team defeated Episcopal Academy 5-2.  In their third match of the tournament, the team from Greenwich Academy upset Sacred Heart by a score of 5-2.  Finally, the James Baldwin High School topped the team from Sacred Heart by a score of 4-3.

“In the future, I think it’s the team’s goal to beat Greenwich Academy,” Katie said.  “We are taking steps in the right direction by winning two of the matches on Saturday, but we still have work to do.”

Featured Image by Sydney Kim ’20