Girls Squash dominated the Groton Invitational last Saturday, placing second overall. The team’s starting streak continued over to their match on Wednesday against St. Paul’s, in which it won 8-0. Its record currently stands at 1-0-1.
Co-Captain Migyu Kim ’25 emphasized the intensity and enjoyment level the team experienced. She attributed this to the unique “hot court system,” which quickened the pace of the meet.
“It wasn’t necessarily a single match against Groton; they called it the Groton Invitational tournament. There were six schools — it was Brooks, Groton, [Phillips Exeter Academy], Nobles [and Greenough], St. George’s, and us. [It] was really interesting because it was kind of a hot court system, and there were a lot of different, unique things that they put in place. You would play best of three instead of best of five games. [Right] after a court would open up, you and your opponent would hop on to the next court based on the match number. [It] was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of teams there but it was also really intense because each person was ensured four matches, or even five, so it was really fast paced and [there was] a lot of playing,” said Kim.
Liz Zhao ’24 highlighted two crucial players at the Groton Invitation: Devika Hajarnavis ’26 and Kim. According to Zhao, both played exceptionally well, overcoming mental pressure and hardships during their matches.
“One player that stood out to me was Devika Hajarnavis who played number seven in the invitation. She had to fight through a lot of tough matches in which she and the opponent were neck and neck, and the matches were quite long. It’s not easy to do with that kind of mental pressure and I applaud her for doing as well as she did. And of course, Migyu, who won the entire invitational also deserves a mention. She didn’t even drop a game throughout any of her four matches, which is incredible,” said Zhao.
Kim highlighted her appreciation for the team’s high energy and spirits through a tough tournament testing fitness levels and focus. She notes that the team supported each other exceptionally well.
“I think the team performed really, really well, especially because it wasn’t necessarily determined in the win-loss kind of way and more in the total points that you collected as a team. I think it really allowed for the players to get the match experience without a lot of pressure. The team really flourished in that kind of scenario. Because there were so many matches, it really tested fitness and focus. I think that the team performed really well despite being tired in the last couple games. I really just appreciated their enthusiasm and energy. I think that the team played really well overall,” said Kim.
Despite Girls Squash’s lapse in focus after a long bus ride to St. George’s on Wednesday, Shreya Bajaj ’23 emphasized the team’s dominance and crucial comeback moments. Girls Squash controlled the courts and cheered on their teammates with enthusiasm.
“I think there were some really great comeback moments in some of the matches — even though we won, many of us felt we may not have played our best because we had to travel two plus hours to get to St. George’s and felt a bit unfocused after the bus ride. However, the support was great and since we were just working on hitting each individual shot well and playing our best during each point, we were able to turn some games around and maintain focus during games where people were winning,” said Bajaj.
The team anticipates a restful yet productive break ahead of them, continuing to train on their own and work hard on the more individual aspects of their game, according to Zhao.
“I think during the upcoming break, the team will train by themselves, take the time to train their own weakest aspects individually and focus on their own game and come back stronger and ready to take on the rest of the season. I know I’m extremely hyped up after how exciting and fun the invitational was and I think the rest of the team probably feels the same way. I know many of us are going to continue training over the break and by the time we come back, I’m sure everyone will be ready to continue playing matches,” said Zhao.
Girls Squash looks forward to facing off Choate on January 7 after returning from break.
