2/11 – Andover 7, Middlesex: 0
With Senior Day banners hanging and posters lining the walls, Girls Squash closed out its regular season with a 7-0 victory at home against Middlesex. The win extends Andover’s record to ten victories as the team prepares for the U.S. Squash Team Squash Championships in Philadelphia, Pa. next week, ranked third in the nation.
Senior Day added an emotional dimension to the match, as the team honored its graduating players—Co-Captains Evelyn Kung ’26 and Prisha Shivani ’26—with posters, speeches, and a team celebration after the match. Judy Liu ’29 described the atmosphere as both festive and meaningful.
Liu said, “Senior Day is a fun tradition where we celebrate our Seniors. We make posters, order pizza, and after the matches, both the boys and girls teams gather to give speeches and recognize them. It was a really positive atmosphere, and the seniors got emotional toward the end.”
Olivia Wang ’29 highlighted the importance of maintaining focus during the game. Conditioning has been a strong and vital part of the team. Wang noted that the physical demands built into practice have strengthened both speed and endurance.
“We still have to maintain our own level and play up to our skill. We challenged ourselves on court by experimenting with shot selection. [Head] Coach [Shaun] Duffy works a lot of fitness into our practices. We do… sprints and a lot of agility work. It’s helped with our movement and made us a lot faster,” Wang said.
Rachel Levitzky ’28 reflected on a week of training and preparation, especially the strategies employed by Coach Duffy to diversify the team’s skills ahead of its matchup against Middlesex.
“One thing we worked on was not just our kill shots, but also our kill serves. Coach Duffy was showing us different ways to serve that could throw off our opponents and help us win crucial points,” said Levitzky.
Looking ahead to the U.S. Squash Team Squash Championships, the team remains confident despite tough competition from higher-ranked programs such as Greenwich Academy and Hotchkiss. Liu reflected on Andover’s 2-5 loss to Hotchkiss earlier in the year and how to improve going into Nationals.
“The number one and number two teams are Greenwich Academy and Hotchkiss. We played Hotchkiss in a close match earlier in the season, but we lost 5–2. There were a couple of key points that could have really made a difference. We feel pretty confident going into [the U.S. Squash Team Squash Championships]. We definitely want to improve our number three ranking spot. We have a good shot at Hotchkiss, but at the same time, we’re playing some pretty strong teams,” said Liu.
Girls Squash will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. for the U.S. Squash Team Squash Championships, taking place from Friday, February 20 to Sunday, February 22.
