Boys Squash Comes Up Short 2--5 vs. Senior Laden Greens Farms Academy Team

Boys Squash Comes Up Short 2--5 vs. Senior Laden Greens Farms Academy Team

    The boys varsity squash team traveled down Interstate 95 on Wednesday, December 16th to face an experienced (5 seniors in their top 7) Greens Farms Academy team.  Hopkins, with 4 out of our top 7 players in the eighth or ninth grade, faced a distinct age disadvantage.  

    Greens Farms began the match by decisively winning at positions 5 and 7 over eighth grader Aidan Appleby and ninth grader Jack McLean by 3--0 scores.  Aidan came close in the first game, losing 11/8, but age, strength, and experience were the telling factors in the other games played at these two positions.  Return of serve techniques need to be improved.  Then, at the number 3 position, senior tri-captain Nick Aeppel, after quickly losing the first two games, pulled his deep game together but still lost the third game by a much closer 11/9 margin.

    Finally, at #1 singles, 8th grade Hopkins standout Max Martin kept his senior (and formidable tennis player) opponent, Nick Newhouse, pinned against the side walls and won a hard fought contest by the scores of 11/3, 11/8, and 11/7.  So this put Hopkins down 3--1 at the end of the first round of matches.

    The match was then decided at the #6 position, where GFA senior Drew Rider bounced Hopkins senior Miles Adams, 11/1, 11/2, and 11/5, with hard serves and deep drives to both corners.

    Ninth grader Doug Schaffer faced twelfth grader Ben Swett at #4, and hustled and improved markedly as the match went on, and extended his older opponent to 13/11 in the third game before succumbing.

    The last match of the day involved senior tri-captain Ryan Daley against Ramzi Nimr, a player who had defeated Ryan 3 games to 2 in our match a year ago.  But this time Ryan was not to be denied as he matched Ramzi shot for shot and focused on keeping Ramzi deep in the corners where Ramzi could not use his effective drop shots and corners.   Ryan emerged victorious in the closest match of the day, 12/10, 11/8, 8/11, and 11/8.  Only a closely missed shot here and there separated these two players, as both battled intensely and with determination.

    Hopkins' next match will take place after the long winter break, in January of 2010, with a make up match against St. Luke's School.

With best regards,

William L. Ewen