This past Sunday, February 22, Boys and Girls Varsity Squash competed at the 2026 U.S. High School Squash Team Championship, placing first and second respectively. The teams traveled to the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to compete in a tournament from February 19-22. This year’s victory from the boys team marked their first ever win at the national championships in the school’s history.
“The championship was the greatest sporting event I’ve ever seen,” said Luke Velasco ’27.
Last year, both the boys and girls teams placed second. In 2024, the boys came in fourth place, while the girls finished in third. Both team’s strong regular season record earned them the second seed heading into the national tournament.
The national tournament features a team-scoring format, with only the team’s top seven players facing off against another team’s top seven. In order to win the round, a team needs to win a minimum of four out of seven matches.
Both teams have had strong seasons thus far. Led by co-captains Makeda Moshi ’26 and Olivia Choo ’26, the girls had a record of 8-1, with one loss against Greenwich Academy. After winning their first three rounds at the national tournament 7-0, 7-0, and 6-1, they faced off against the number-one seeded Greenwich Academy again in the final round.
Zara Mohd Fakhrur Razi ’28, Moshi ’26, Trinity Moshi ’29, Choo, Eloise Oakley ’27, Pippa Clark ’28, and Charlotte McAfee ’28 played for the team. The team lost 5-2 in the final round, with the two wins coming from Moshi ’26 and Moshi ’29. Notably, three of the girls competed while observing Ramadan.
The boys had an undefeated record heading into nationals. Co-captains Rohan Gupta ’26 and Parth Khera ’26 led the team to a 16-0 record over the regular season, with a number of shutout wins.
In the championship round, the boys faced off against number one- seeded St. Andrews School (FL). The teams were tied 3-3 before heading into the final match.
The seven boys who played were Khera, Gupta, Jude Cha ’28, Reed Morris ’28, David Martoma ’28, Knox Vitrano ’28, and Simrith Gaddam ’28. Thanks to wins from Cha, Morris, and Vitrano, the outcome of the championship was to be decided by the final match, played by Gaddam.
After beginning two games down, Gaddam reverse swept, winning his individual match three games to two, and securing the team’s victory. Upon Gaddam’s game-winning point, which featured a noteworthy between-the-legs shot, both the boys and girls teams stormed the court in celebration.
Luke Velasco ’27, a member of Boys Varsity Squash, said, “The championship was the greatest sporting event I’ve ever seen.”
