JV Boys Squash has First Program Win Against Squash Haven!

On a chilly and breezy January day, the Hopkins boys junior varsity team traveled with 8 players down to the Yale University squash courts in central New Haven to take on the Squash Haven junior varsity team.  One year ago, Squash Haven dominated the Hopkins Hilltoppers 6--1, with only our #7 player winning in 5 games.  With Squash Haven being a 12 month squash/education program for aspiring inner city student/athletes, Hopkins has always faced a daunting task facing Squash Haven, especially on their own turf (Yale lends its courts to Squash Haven on weekday afternoons).

 

Play began with the even numbered matches.  The number 4 and 6 matches were the first to finish.  Kyle Shin, playing #6 for Hopkins, got things off to a promising start, playing stronger and more assertive squash as the match progressed, coming through with a 12/10, 11/7, 11/4 triumph.  But Squash Haven answered right back at the #4 position as Shaheed dominated Hopkins' Ryan Viores with an assortment of shots and drives that stayed very tight to the side walls.  The final score in that match was 11/7, 11/9, 11/5.  Hopkins' Justin Saffan, playing in the #8 exhibition contest, brought out his left handed hard serve to dominate his Squash Haven opponent, 11/0, 11/3, 11/3.  Ian Dailis, playing #2 for Hopkins, found himself pitted against a strong and hard hitting adversary, and many long and intense points were played.  Eventually William prevailed for Squash Haven with an impressive and hard earned 11/8, 11/6, 8/11, 11/9 win.  This put Squash Haven ahead, 2 matches to 1 after the completion of Round 1.

 

Round 2 began soon thereafter.  Kadin Zhang, in the #7 position for Hopkins, used a wide variety of shots and angles to keep his Squash Haven rival off balance, emerging with a convincing 11/6, 11/8, 11/6 conquest, to even the match score at 2--2.  But soon thereafter, Squash Haven once again moved out into the lead, with a left handed player named Ali besting Hopkins' Connor Hartigan 9/11, 11/7, 14/12, 11/6, with the crucial third game proving to be the tipping point in Squash Haven's favor.  So now the match score was 3--2 in favor of Squash Haven.

 

Two matches remained, and Hopkins would have to win them both in order to achieve the team victory.  Eliot Carlson was playing #1 for Hopkins and found his match knotted at one game apiece, with Eliot having won game one but having dropped game 2 by a margin of 3/11.  And ninth grader Cyrus Chemery, playing at the #5 spot, found himself down two games to one.  Hopkins clearly had its backs up against the wall.  But Cyrus began to dig in, running down many balls that had seemed to be winners, and evened his match at 2 games apiece.  Then, saving his best squash of the season for the final game, Cyrus mixed up cross court drives with great depth, with some effective short shots while his opponent was behind him, and won going away, 11/9, 8/11/, 8/11, 11/8, 11/2.  So the outcome of the match came down to the number one singles contest--an exciting and fitting conclusion to a match where both teams played valiantly and courageously.  Eliot came out in game three determined to play solid fundamental squash, patiently working to getting his worthy Squash Haven antagonist behind him so that he could then bring out his effective boast shots and drop shots.  And, having won game three, Eliot jumped out to a 3--0 lead in game four, thus putting his Squash Haven counterpart under additional pressure, and never relinquished the lead, emerging victorious in his match, 11/9, 3/11, 11/6, 11/6, thus also securing the team title for Hopkins 4--3 for the first time ever in Hopkins junior varsity boys squash history!  Congratulations to the entire team on its titanic triumph!