The JV girls faced off against St. Paul’s School at home on Saturday. With a great home crowd showing support, the girls pulled off another tight win to bring their record to 7-0 for the season. Despite battling various illnesses, the nine JV players came away with an 8-1 record for the day. The leaders of the day were senior co-captains Lilley Salmon and Carolina Conzelman (third senior tri-captain Olivia Jones could not participate due to sickness, but showed up to support her team regardless). Conzelman, at #14, won in 3 over a skilled St. Paul’s opponent, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9. Stalwart 9th-grader Talbot von Stade, playing #12 and the top spot for JV that day, cranked out another 3-0 for a second Deerfield point. Down from varsity, senior Adeliza Grace won in 3 (11-8, 11-6, 11-9) to put Deerfield within one point of a victory for the day. At #8, varsity player and junior Katie Parker had a tough four games. Parker lost the first two, 9-11, 6-11, but pulled off an 11-9 win in the third. Though she gave the fourth game her all, Parker ultimately fell 9-11 to her opponent. At #9, varsity player and senior Lily Louis fought a tough battle in the first game, losing 11-13. Her opponent appeared to gain steam and knocked out the next two games, handing a pair of 4-11, 3-11 losses to Louis. At #11, varsity senior Maya Hart’s opponent brought the fire, defeating Hart 3-0 (4-11, 7-11, 8-11).
The day, and the season’s undefeated record, came down to Salmon’s match. As expected, though, Salmon stayed cool under pressure and got down to business with her Pelican. With a decisive 3-0 victory (11-5, 11-9, 11-5) Salmon gave Deerfield the win for the day and helped the girls’ team stay perfect in 2017-2018.
In exhibition matches #15-20, the girls faced determined opponents, but came out on to. Sophomore Christina Li won in five games (7-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6), bringing fans to the edge of their seats as always. The Geraci sisters cranked out great wins as well: at #16, Isabella won a pair of 11-4 games and then held off her partner in a long 12-10 game to secure the W. Despite sickness, Olivia cranked out two 11-8 games and then caught fire in the third, winning 11-1. At #18, it was an interesting day for junior Cameron Garner, who faced off against her former teammate from St. Paul’s. There seems to be something different in the squash players’ water at Deerfield, as Garner won in 3 (11-2, 11-2, 11-6), saving mercy for outside the court. In her first appearance for Deerfield this season, sophomore Helen Mak had an amazing five-game day. Though Mak ultimately lost in the fifth game, this was due to a smart and talented opponent rather than a lack of effort on Mak’s part, as she went 6-11, 11-3, 12-10, 10-12, 6-11 in a day of great points. Also making her debut for Deerfield on Saturday was sophomore Janis Chen, who showcased the depth and strength of the JV squad in a 3-0 win (11-3, 11-4, 11-9) and was the eighth junior varsity girl to win her match that day.
The team looks forward to a final match away at Williston before the long weekend break, and with seven great wins under their belt, feels strong heading into the last five contests of the season.