The Boys Squash (8-3-1) team has been on a roll, sweeping each of its opponents in recent matches. The team played against Westminster and Choate on Saturday, followed by a crucial match against Exeter on Wednesday. Despite missing their injured captain, Avery Lin ’25, the squad stepped up and delivered outstanding performances.
After a decisive victory on Wednesday, Jonathan Xu ’28 reflected on the team’s weekend success over Choate and Westminster and in its latest match against Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter). Xu highlighted teammate Pragun Seth ’25 for his performance against Exeter.
“Our match on Saturday was a joint match with two other schools, Westminster and Choate. Since Choate didn’t bring three of their players, it was a pretty quick and easy match, and Westminster didn’t have a strong team either, so we swept both of them 14-0 on varsity. This Wednesday, we played Exeter and swept them 7-0. Everybody played really well. Shoutout to Pragun for coming back from down 2-0. [There] was great team spirit today,” said Xu.
Franklin Kozol ’27 expanded on Seth’s ability to perform under pressure, allowing him to pull off a challenging comeback against Exeter. Coming down to the fifth game, in front of an audience, Seth completed the team sweep.
“Pragun was down two games against a very messy player. Knowing Pragun, he loves stadium pressure. He’s down two games, everyone finishes their matches, and all eyes are on him. We had about 30 kids packed onto one bench outside the court, and what does he do? He comes back and clutches up, three games to two. The fifth game was an absolute heater. The entire crowd was going wild,” said Kozol.
While the team was favored in both matches, Kozol noted that they still faced difficult opponents, sharing the fighting effort by John-Jayden Luo ’28.
“We just got the job done. We were the favorites in both matches, and it was a good team win. JJ had some long rallies, tough points, and a grueling match conditioning-wise,” said Kozol.
The absence of Lin left a noticeable gap in the team’s leadership, but Xu emphasized his teammates’ resilience as they finish the season without their captain.
“We are feeling the effects of not having Captain Avery Lin with us. He’s usually such a supportive presence and a great role model. Because of his unfortunate injury, we will be missing him for the entire season, which will be a challenge for us going into Nationals and New Englands, but I appreciate all the players stepping up and playing in higher positions while still performing well,” said Xu.
Luo stressed the importance of fitness as the team prepares for upcoming challenges. Due to the long period before their next match, the team plans to spend many of its practices dedicated to conditioning.
“We have a long time before our next match, about a week. Our next match is next Wednesday against St. George’s. Since we’re coming up on the end of the season, we’re focusing a lot on fitness,” said Luo. “It’s hard to improve a lot in terms of skill in such a short amount of time, so we want to ensure we have the endurance to outlast the other team. We’re doing a lot of fitness drills and simple exercises on the court.”
Kozol echoed this sentiment and the team’s need to fill the leadership gap from Lin’s absence.
“Lots of conditioning. We have a gap to fill because of Avery’s injury. I’m really hoping for him [to get better], but we know we have to step up,” said Kozol.
With their eyes set on Nationals and New Englands, Boys Squash remains determined to build on their success and continue dominating the competition.
