Girls Squash had its first undefeated season in many years (1977 being the last) at 13-0 and though three of the wins were against JV teams, the squad dominated traditional rivals Berkshire, Canterbury and Kingswood Oxford and had some impressive first in many years wins over both Westminster and Loomis. Much success was drawn from the experience of Hannah Davis, Laura Conway, Katie Rodes, Sara Jemison and the inimitable competitiveness of Regan Cherna while we also had developing talent in Lesea Bourke who rose to the #1 spot during the season, and solid depth all the way through the bottom of the ladder with newcomers Annie Nielson and Adrienne Sieverding. It was this depth that ultimately won us our tough matches.
We began the season with a solid win over Miss Porters on their courts and it was good to see our captain, Davis, play her best against stiff competition. The early high point was a 4-3 win over a good Westover team that was still very strong despite having graduated some top players. This was followed by wins over traditional rivals Canterbury, Kingswood Oxford, Berkshire, Millbrook and the two aforementioned wins over Westminster and Loomis. It was especially gratifying to beat these last two schools as they have superb squash facilities that are well known in the circuit, as well as solid recruiting programs.
The season ended with our best showing ever at the New England B Tournament, a tie for 4th place (out of 16 schools) with Andover. This was also accomplished without our #6 and #7, both of whom were sick and unable to participate. Our #8, Jemison and #9, Sieverding played up at #6 and #7 respectively. Arden Reynolds and Sieverding both reached the semi-finals where they lost but then beat the finalist of the other semi-final matches to finish 3rd place out of 16. All members of the team played well and it was gratifying to see captain Davis play some of her best squash of the year, beating the same opponent from Westminster to whom she had lost just two weeks earlier at Kent. Both She and Bourke lost their final matches in close, exciting 5 game contests. It was a fantastic season with lots of hard work that paid off.
