Boys and Girls Varsity Squash traveled to the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center and the Penn Squash Center in Philadelphia to compete in the National High School Division I Squash Championships from February 21 to 23. Last year, the boys came in fourth place and the girls placed third. This year, both teams finished second—the best finishes in the school’s history.
Nationals uses a team scoring format, with the top seven players from each team facing off. To advance to the next round, a team needed to win a minimum of four out of seven matches.
Girls Varsity Squash entered nationals seeded second—the team’s highest-ever seeding. The team had only one loss in the regular season against Greenwich Academy. Olivia Choo ’26 said, “When we played them the last time, we had several tight 5-game matches.”
Tabor Academy, against whom the girls won 4-3 early in the season, was also expected to be one of the team’s biggest competitors.
The girls won their first match against #16 Penn Williams Charter School, 5-2. Next, the team played #5 Andover during the quarterfinals, winning 6-1, and went on to face #7 Tabor in the semifinals. Girls Varsity Squash Head Coach Maja Clark said, “As expected, Tabor had a really strong line-up, especially the top four players.”
Co-captain Virginia Wood ’25, co-captain Ellis Chung ’25, and Charlotte McAfee ’28 won their matches as seeds four through seven. University of Virginia commit Makeda Moshi ’26 won a five-game match to clinch a 4-3 victory and a spot in the finals. Coach Clark said, “Makeda’s match was one of the most exciting sporting events at any level that I have ever attended or been a part of. She showed herself to be an elite athlete.”
The girls faced #1 Greenwich Academy in the finals. Though there were close matches played by Choo, Wood, Moshi, and Pippa Clark ’28, the girls lost 0-7. Coach Clark said, “Although we lost to GA, we were definitely knocking on their door. Success to me is going out on the court and playing your best squash. I’m so proud of all of the girls, who played with real intelligence and heart. ”
Boys Varsity Squash entered the tournament seeded third out of sixteen teams. Co-captain and Bowdoin College commit Liam Waldron ’25 said, “We had a strong regular season overall but also many hard losses, due to injuries, sickness, and poor attendance, which affected our seeding. Our biggest competitors at nationals were Brunswick and Taft, with eight and six Seniors on their rosters, respectively.”
The boys played their first match against #15 Mercersburg, winning 6-1. The team went against #5 Deerfield in the quarterfinals and won all seven matches, with Parth Khera ’26, co-captain and University of Virginia commit Oscar Okonkwo ’25, Rohan Gupta ’26, Jude Cha ’28, Arvaan Motwane ’26, David Martoma ’28, and Knox Vitrano ’28 all winning their matches.
In the semifinals, the team faced second seed Taft, winning 6-1. Okonkwo, Gupta, Khera, Waldron, Martoma, and Vitrano won their matches.
The boys faced #1 Brunswick in the finals. Khera played with a partially broken toe against Brunswick’s Senior captain, winning a five-game match. Squash Program Director Bobby Burns ’08 said, “His toughness was on another level, which was absolutely inspiring for his coaches and his teammates.” The matches were tight against Brunswick, but the boys lost 2-5.
