Patrick Espe and Raphael Furey
The Episcopal community has great expectations for the Boy’s Squash team this season. This year, the team has an opportunity to accomplish an unprecedented feat for a male high-school Squash team: becoming four-time National Champions. Commenting on Nationals this year, Joe Russell, Head Coach of Boy’s Squash, said, “It’s definitely possible. Each year has been tough, overall the scores have been pretty much in our favor but we’ve been pushed.” When asked about his expectations for the year overall, Russell said, “The expectations are pretty high. … The boys are every bit as strong as they were the last three years but [we’re] not completely sure what [we’re] up against.” Although the team lost two Senior squad members this year, Andrew McGuiness and Xander Greer, Russell assured that the squad will not be seriously affected because “what we’ve lost there, we’ve gained from the middle school.” When asked who he expects to step up to fill those empty spots, Russell said that there are “a bunch of players on the squad who did not play at nationals or who did not make the top nine (because only the top nine play at nationals). They’ve been working really hard and stand a good chance at making the team.”
Although the National Championship is a strong priority for the team, the squad also faces a competitive Inter-Ac league. The team looks to repeat their success last year of achieving a 7-0 record in the league, but is aware that there are teams in the Inter-Ac that will make a tough league season for Episcopal’s team. Regarding the competition in the Inter-Ac league, Russell said, “We always look forward to playing CHA and Haverford, locally. CHA has been very strong the last couple of years so it’s always a tense experience to play them and is our favorite match of the year to get past them.” Chestnut Hill Academy fought Episcopal’s team last year in a tight 5 to 4 match that challenged the Episcopal squat to prove their determination and depth. Episcopal first faces Chestnut Hill in an away match on December 13th. Russell said that the boys will need “to stay focused” when they encounter the CHA Blue Devils. Haverford also proved to be a competitive force last year, as the Episcopal team only beat them by one game in their 5-4 win. The first match with Haverford is January 3rd at the Haverford School. When asked about the past Chestnut Hill and Haverford matches, Patrick McCarthy, ’13, said, “These matches were close, yes, but I feel confident that if we can all stay focused this year, we can secure the Inter-Ac and convincingly beat both CHA and Haverford.” The team prepares for the season with excitement, hoping to repeat past success. Andrew Stone, ’14, said, “I’m excited to get started with the new season and to possibly make history for the 4th year in a row.”