Haverford School wins third consecutive MASA championship
Haverford – The Haverford School varsity A squash team captured its third consecutive Mid-Atlantic Squash Association (MASA) title Feb. 5 before a packed house at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
This year’s MASA tournament was compressed into three matches all in one day. The morning started with a friendly match against their varsity B teammates. The second match was against Shipley varsity and the Fords defeated the Gators, 8-1.
The one loss came from a default when Haverford’s No. 1 player, Duncan Joyce, had to leave the tournament to solo with The Notables in an a capella competition. Joyce was able to return for the afternoon’s marquee event, a rematch with Inter-Ac rival SCHA.
After the opening round of matches, Haverford found itself in a 2-2 tie when Bill Wu and Christian Shah pulled out victories. Following the next round of matches, the teams found themselves in a 3-3 tie with a win by Spencer Yager.
It was now up to Haverford’s top three players. Joyce took the courts first and secured a 3-0 victory. Peter Miller was on next and found himself down 0-2. Just as Grant Sterman took the courts for his match, Miller began to mount a comeback. Miller reeled off three straight games in his favor, while Sterman won his match in three, also coming from being down 8-10 in game three but winning 12-10.
The two juniors put Haverford over the top within 30 seconds of each other. It was a fitting conclusion to the tournament – Miller and Sterman have been playing squash together and against each other for nearly a decade.
After Haverford’s 6-3 victory, Ford coach Asad Khan said, “I am so proud of how the guys handled everything today. It was a long, hard day and SCHA has become such a fierce rival. Our boys played as a true team and really handled themselves well.”
The Fords head to the U.S. High School National Squash Championships in Connecticut, Feb. 10-12. Varsity A is the No. 1 seed in the country and looking to avenge its loss in the final last year to archrival Brunswick.
