Deerfield girls’ JV squash got its first sweep of the season in a 7-0 blowout against Groton on the Wednesday before winter break. At #1 and #2, varsity players Katie Parker ’19 and Lily Louis ’18 faced off against tough opponents. Parker took care of the competition in two tight games (11-9, 11-8), then pulled away the close the third game 11-6. Louis went 11-6, 11-8, and then whipped out a decisive 11-2 to give Deerfield another point. At the top of the JV ladder as usual, co-captain and senior Lilley Salmon knocked out her competition 11-5, 11-9, 11-3. Playing #4 against Groton, Talbot von Stade ’21 dropped her first game 10-12, but stayed calm and collected, got a little coaching from co-captain Carolina Conzelman ’18, and hammered out 11-5 and 11-2 wins in the next two games before handily putting away the fourth. Conzelman, playing #5, cranked out a 3-0 win 11-7, 11-5, 11-9, putting even greater distance between Deerfield and Groton as the wins added up. At #6, sophomore Christina Li made short work of the opposition, winning three games in a row, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4. Junior Cameron Heard, playing #7, closed out the Deerfield sweep. Heard kept things interesting — the first two games went her way 11-7, 11-7, but her Groton matchup proved tenacious and surprised Heard with a fierce 1-11 game. The unflappable Heard kept centered and pressed her advantage, squeaking out a hard-fought 11-9 win and sealing Deerfield’s 7-0 victory. The team celebrated with Chipotle and looked forward to a restful break before a slew of February contests, during which they hope to continue adding to their record of wins!