Episcopal Academy boys’ squash team wins Inter-Ac title
The Episcopal Academy varsity boys’ squash team has won the Inter-Ac title for the first time since 2012.
“I am so proud of the boys for winning the Inter-Ac title,” said EA coach J.R. Russell. “It’s great to see all of their hard work pay off.”
The team secured the Inter-Ac title after a 5-4 win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Jan. 16.
“It’s great to see the Inter-Ac come back to EA and hopefully stay here,” said EA co-captain Eric Kim. “After playing on the team for five years and losing to Haverford and SCH every year for four years, it’s exciting to finally get some results and end that streak in my senior year.”
“The highlight from my match was being able to pull out the win in five games for the team,” said EA Declan McCarthy.
Five of the nine matches went to five games.
Another highlight was a 3-2 battle and win by EA’s Billy Stavropoulos against an opponent he recently lost to in a U.S. Squash tournament.
“SCH always brings a crowd out to their courts and they get loud for their kids so with such a young team, it was impressive to see how everyone including the underclassmen handled the pressure,” said Kim.
“The team supported each other throughout the tight team match and showed excellent sportsmanship,” said EA Director of Squash Demer Holleran. “The three seniors showed great leadership in coming prepared to fight for the win.”
Earlier in the season, EA defeated last year’s High School Nationals champions – Haverford School – by a 6-3 score. Winning the Inter-Ac title and beating Haverford and SCH has been especially memorable for the seniors on the team.
“It has been so long since we have done all three,” said McCarthy.
The team now has its sights on the upcoming MASA Tournament (Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb 8) and High School National Tournament (Feb. 2-4).
“We will try to improve on what we’ve been able to accomplish this year,” said Kim. “In the four years that I’ve been to High School Nationals, the highest we’ve finished has been seventh place and I think that with this team this year we have a chance to finish in the top four in the country.”
