Deerfield knocked Loomis off its feet on Wednesday afternoon in a 6-1 victory (9-1 including exhibition matches). The evens were up first: 9th-grader Talbot von Stade proved her dominance when she won in 3, going 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 against her Loomis opponent for a W. At #4, sophomore Christina Li had an interesting three matches, going 11-9 in the first, 11-2 in the second, and then a tight 12-10 to seal her win in 3 once again. Junior Isabella Geraci had a great day at #6, beating her Loomis Pelican 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 for yet another 3-0 Deerfield win.
With the match wrapped up thanks to the evens, the odds took the court. At #3, Senior tri-captain Carolina Conzelman, looking to solidify her fantastic JV squash legacy, was on fire as she sought the elusive bagel. She came close with two 11-2 wins, but her opponent fought back a bit in the third game. Conzelman ultimately won the third straight game with a blistering 11-5 victory, showing that when she runs to the ball, she is truly unstoppable. Over at #5, sophomore Cameron Heard was feeling good as she took the court, and won 11-7 to start off the action. The next two games were a bit closer, but Heard tightened down and solidified her victory in the second game 12-10, then performed when the pressure was on to win the third game 13-11. Senior tri-captain Olivia Jones, despite a harrowing hand-in-court-door mishap during Tuesday evening’s rendition of the JV squad’s favorite game, the so-called “Cookies and Reindeers,” earned a great 3-0 victory with an 11-6 win, a beautiful 11-0 bagel, and a merciless 11-3 triumph to finish off the win.
Up at #1, senior tri-captain Lilley Salmon was the last player on court. Her opponent had a fantastic serve, but Salmon proved too talented to fall in the face of deep back-corner shots and too fit to be bested by drop shots. Salmon’s classic topspin boast earned her a victory in the first game, 11-9, but she fell 9-11 in the second. The third game went Salmon’s way, as her opponent got tired and Salmon’s fitness and skills showed themselves and gave her an 11-6 edge. Sadly, Salmon’s Pelican held on through the next two games and won a pair of 11-9s. Despite a questionable stroke call to end the match, Salmon fought her hardest and endured by far the lengthiest contest of the day, and had only conduct to be proud of as she left the court — despite many moments when she could have given up and shortened the contest, Salmon dedicated herself to the pursuit of each and every ball and continued to play smart squash under pressure.
In exhibition, #8, junior Cameron Garner, and #9 and #10, sophomores Janis Chen and Helen Mak, had excellent and victorious showings against Loomis. Garner had a nice four-game match, losing the first game 9-11 and then coming back for a fiery 11-1 win in the second game. The third game went to Garner again, 11-9, and her Pelican seemed to tire out in the fourth, as Garner won 11-4 and secured a 3-1 win. Chen caused many slip-ups for her opponent, and won 11-2, 11-7, 11-7 for yet another Deerfield 3-0 victory. Finally, Mak cleaned up in the closing salvo of the day, hammering out an 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 set of wins for the 9th Deerfield victory of that lovely Wednesday.
The win over Loomis gave Deerfield a record of 9 and 0 with two contests left in the season. Tune in on this coming Wednesday at home for more excitement, as the Big Green take on the last obstacle in their path to an undefeated season and their most bitter rival, Choate Rosemary Hall, at home!