After a successful season for both Girls Squash and Boys Squash, with just three losses each, five Andover athletes were invited to the U.S. Squash Junior Championships. This tournament stands as one of the premier stages for young squash athletes, drawing top youth squash players from across the country. Held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 13 to 15 at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Andover was represented by Judy Liu ’29 and Ava Kung ’29 in the GU17 division, Co-Captain Corey Shen ’26 in the BU19 division, Isabella Tang ’28 in the GU19 division, and Kevin Wu ’29 in the BU15 division.
Tang claimed her first national title in the U19 division, adding to her previous accolades, which include being a victor in the U15 division at the tournament. Tang described her performance throughout the championship match, which she won in 12–10, 11–2, 11–9.
“The first few points, I was really nervous, and I was really tense because the last time I played [my opponent], I lost to her. I wasn’t sure if I would win this time, but I started to loosen up towards the middle of that game. From there, I kept my momentum,” said Tang.
Tang continued, “In the third game I was down 8–3. I wasn’t sure if I was going to win that game, but I didn’t want to make it easy for [my opponent]. I fought for every point and came back and won that game. If she had won that game, the momentum would have shifted completely. I’m glad I held my ground.”
Now ranked among the world’s best 150 U19 players, Tang elaborated on what she learned from her title and her future plans for her squash career.
“My biggest takeaway was [that] I underestimate myself a lot, and a lot of the time, I don’t realize my own potential. Moving forward, I want to focus on playing [at the professional level] and doing well in the professional rankings,” said Tang.
Wu earned an overall second place in the BU15 division, only losing in the final championship match in 3–11, 3–11, 8–11. He described how the experience taught him valuable lessons that will improve his skill and technique as he progresses throughout his athletic career.
“I was working so hard leading up to [the final]. I was really sad [to have lost], but there were a lot of things to take away from it because there were some spots I can work on to get better. Now, I’m working on getting better as a player. Of course, I’m really bummed out that I couldn’t win [the tournament], but this is my highest finish at [the competition], so it’s something I’m proud of,” said Wu.
In the matches leading up to his final game, Wu described how his approach to competing shaped his performance.
“I told myself, ‘think about each point at a time, it doesn’t matter if I’m down by a lot. Just try your best, stay focused on every point, and slowly, you’re going to cut down the lead,’” said Wu.
For Shen, a Senior, this event marked his final tournament donning an Andover jersey. He lost in the competition’s first round in five sets, with a score of 8–11, 5–11, 11–5, 11–4, 5–11. Describing his performance as a bittersweet experience, Shen mentioned how he adapted to the unique environment he was placed in and the circumstances he faced.
“I felt a little bit nervous because I feel there’s a lot more reassurance when someone who’s watching from a third-person perspective can give you advice and tips. But throughout this process, I was coaching myself. As a result, because my dad wasn’t there, I was also adapting to different conditions in terms of where I was living, who I was staying with, [and] what kind of food I’d be eating,” said Shen.
Shen continued, “There are two kinds of different takeaways. It is important for me to have this set routine, and for me to know what I want to eat, have my whole plan scheduled out, and then also be very self-reflective during the match, so I can coach myself instead of having to rely on someone else to be able to give me guidance from the outside. [Another] takeaway is to have confidence and enjoy what I’m doing. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the result, but at the end of the day, if I just focus on playing my best and focus on really loving the game, the results will follow naturally.”
Beyond Tang’s, Wu’s, and Shen’s performances, Liu ultimately reached the semifinals and Kung fell in the tournament’s first round.
