Thirds squash took on perennial foe Eagle Hill in a Wednesday evening matchup (the girls varsity and JV teams got off to a late start, but made short work of their opponents as they warmed up the courts for us). The visitors brought a coed squad of thirteen, and we answered with fourteen of our own (more on that later). Motivated to bounce back from our crushing defeat to Eaglebrook, we came out firing on all cylinders.
Alex Smith, still riding the wave of his “Athlete of the Week” honor, was first off, sandwiching a bagel between two more comfortable wins. He was followed by Jonny and Ethan, both of whom maintained focus to finish the job without dropping a game. After Max kept his very capable opponent at arms’ length, we clinched the match with a win from Alex Kaminsky at #5. Strong performances from Justin and Joseph made it 6-0, as the exhibition crew of Matt, Protik, and Elliott posted wins of their own. Additionally, two of Mr. Austin’s finest, Susan Li and Fernanda Ponce, played competitive matches against Eagle Hill’s female athletes. By 6 PM, only David and Phil, the bookends of the lineup, remained on court. Phil went down in three hard-fought games to Eagle Hill’s talented top player, while David was sent out against the short-handed visitors’ #5 player. Despite giving up at least a foot and 40 pounds to his opponent, David fought hard, dropping two close games 11-8 and 11-9 before roaring back to take the third 11-8. Through some smart, aggressive play and all-out hustle, David went up 9-5 in the fourth game, but some timely adjustments by his opponent swung momentum the other way. Although David saved two match points, he eventually went down 13-11.
We go into winter break with a 1-1 record and much reason for optimism. 2017 starts against crosstown rivals Bement and Eaglebrook, and ramps up from there. Looking forward to much more good squash in a few weeks.
Deerfield 6, Eagle Hill 1
Phil Weymouth lost in 3
Max Bronckers won in 3
Justin Lui won in 3
Ethan Kelly won in 3
Alex Kaminsky won in 3
Jonny Glinton won in 3
Joseph Mollo won in 3
Matt Wierzbicki won in 3
Alex Smith won in 3
Protik Nandy won in 3
Elliott Flagg won in 3
David Chen lost in 4
Susan Li lost in 4
Fernanda Ponce won