2003-2004 Season Summary: Varsity Girls' Squash

The 2003-2004 Girls Varsity Squash season was a tough one, a continuous uphill battle. However, the squad had solid wins over two teams who had defeated Kent earlier in the season, Canterbury and Berkshire (Berkshire had beaten us 7-0 on their courts and then lost 4-3 at Kent). The team also had several close matches where they performed considerably better than last year, such as the 3-4 loss to Suffield which featured solid wins by Co-Captains Courtney Lippoff and Courtney Comstock.

Jee-Hye Park, Viki Seo, Simone Grant and Samantha Grant all came from behind on at least one occasion to win matches in five games. Simone did so in the first round of the New England tournament , winning 3 points for the team. The other stand-out for the season was Sophie Runquist, at #1, who had the best individual season record of 7-8. She scored the most points for the team in the New England Tournament, recording three points with a first round win, subsequently losing to the #2 seed before moving on to the consolation rounds where she advanced to the finals.

A Word from the Coach

I came to squash late in life after many years as a tennis player and this has given me even greater respect and love for the sport. I have coached the girl's varsity squash team for 10 years at Kent and am continually fascinated by the combination of physical skills and quick judgment needed to do well in the sport. It is not for nothing that it is known as chess with racquets.

Many players here learn the game at Kent so there is plenty of room for novices on the team. What is important for me as a coach is that the player measures herself against her own progress and effort. I care less that a player wins than that she knows she has given her best, has demonstrated good sportsmanship and comes off every match knowing that she has learned something. With those critical issues in mind, the winning takes care of itself and we grow as people.

Squash is a fantastic lifetime sport. It can be enjoyed at many levels - as a hard hitting teenager who can run all day, through to the wily old expert who has shots you didn't know existed when you were 17. If you want to be part of a small group that is not afraid to work hard and are looking for a sport you can play for years this is for you!

Björn Runquist