High school squash teams from around the country competed in the National Championship Tournament at Trinity College this past month. Milton’s team finished strong in sixth place against the nation’s other top teams, including Andover, Deerfield and Nobles. The national tournament is the largest squash team event in the world, with 167 teams and over 1,400 players, representing 13 states, competing in 12 divisions.
Entering the tournament this season, the team was undefeated. (They have only recently fallen to Winsor and Nobles, maintaining a 9–2 record.) The girls also placed first in the Groton Invitational Tournament earlier in the season.
What’s this year’s magic? Senior co-captains Charlotte Zonis and Jessica Conway share what they love about the sport, the realities of challenge matches, the rewards of cultivating a strong team dynamic, and the contributions of their coach, Chris Kane.
Jessica: I really enjoy the individual challenge of playing squash. You’re competing against yourself, really, and you can measure your own improvement. It’s such a fun sport—relaxing and exciting at the same time.
Charlotte: Because we’re such a small team, we’re very close. This year’s team is our strongest one yet. We all care about one another’s success. We work hard and are supportive of one another.
Jessica: In years past we’ve had players who were more independent and not as team-oriented. The girls this year mesh well. We’re all in it for the team and for the fun, as well as wanting to compete as best we can. This strong team dynamic has helped us with our record, too. I think a team is always going to compete better if the players like and respect one another, and we do.
Charlotte: We have so much depth on our team. After our number one player, our team is so tight, competition-wise, across the board. Skill-wise, there’s little difference between, say, our three through seven players. Most challenge matches [individual competitions between Milton players to establish the team’s ladder] could go either way. This could have been our success or our downfall, but the fact that everyone is so supportive of one another and invested in the team makes this a great dynamic.
Jessica: In past years we’ve had players who’ve wanted to win their challenge matches more than they’ve wanted to win against other teams, and that’s not the case this year. We all want to improve, and we all want to win against the other schools we play. In fact, this year, our tougher matches have been our challenge matches against one another; many of our matches against players from other teams have been easier.
Charlotte: Coach [Chris] Kane is an important part of our success, too. He’s such a good athlete, and he cares about both the mental and physical aspects of our game. He also approaches each of us as unique individuals and players. He doesn’t try to change our game—he helps us focus instead on our strategy, mental preparedness and physical fitness.
