On February 22, Boys and Girls Varsity Squash traveled to the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center in Philadelphia to compete in the U.S. High School Squash Championships. The girls placed third and the boys placed fourth.
Similar to New England’s, the tournament used a team format, with all seven players on each team playing each other. To win a match, a team had to win four of the seven matchups.
Girls Varsity Squash entered seeded second out of 16 teams. The girls’ first match was against #15 Bronxville. They won 7-0, with Maya Monsoor ’24, Makeda Moshi ’26, Olivia Choo ’26, Virginia Wood ’25, Eloise Oakley ’27, Ellis Chung ’25, and Campbell Burke ’24 all winning their matches.
The girls played their quarterfinal match against #7 St. Paul’s, another sweep. In the semifinals, the girls went against #3 Lawrenceville, to whom they had lost previously in the regular season. Only Moshi and Chung won their matches and the girls lost 5-2.
In the third-place match, the girls played #4 Agnes Irwin School and won 7-0. The girls placed third in nationals, with Greenwich Academy placing first.
Elise Kang ’25 said, “We’re super proud of the outcome. Placing third in the nation is the highest Hotchkiss has ever placed, and we couldn’t have done it without the team we have. We’re so glad to have done it all together.”
Boys Varsity Squash entered the tournament seeded fifth out of 16 teams. The boys played their first match against #12 Rye Country Day, winning 6-1. Oscar Okonkwo ’25, Parth Khera ’26, Rohan Gupta ’26, Liam Waldron ’25, Eli Levy ’24, and Dwyer Illick ’26 all won their matches.
The team then faced two-time defending national champions #4 Kent and pulled off an upset, winning 4-3. Okonkwo, Khera, Gupta, and Illick won their matches. This victory over Kent advanced the boys to the semifinals, where they played #1 Saint Andrew’s (FL). They lost 6-1, with only Khera winning his match.
As a result of the loss to Saint Andrew’s, the team faced #3 Haverford in the third-place match. Only Okonkwo and Illick won their matches, and the team lost 5-2, placing fourth as St. Andrew’s went on to win the tournament.
Last year, the boys were eliminated in the first round of the tournament, and the girls made it to the quarterfinals. This year sets a new record for both teams, as this is the first time they have made it to the semifinals.
Gupta said, “This was a monumental season. We achieved our goals by placing 9th last year, and we made it to 4th place this year. We were able to beat Kent several times, which demonstrates our team’s capability. We plan on using this game and the past matches to continue improving and shoot for the national title.”
The boys ended the regular season with a 13-1 record, beating Kent, last year’s reigning National Champions. The victory marked the third time the team defeated Kent this year: once during the regular season, at New Englands, and at Nationals.
At the New England Championships, the boys placed second.
The girls season record was 10-2. In the regular season, they played Greenwich Academy to 3-4 loss, their closest result of the season.
In the New England Championships, the girls finished second for the second year in a row.
Girls Varsity Squash Head Coach Maja Clark said, “It is a huge accomplishment to be one of the premiere teams in the country. It means we have talent at the top and depth all the way through. The Lady Bearcats fought hard, played well, and carried themselves like champions all weekend long. I am incredibly proud of this team!”
