Girls Squash Extends Its Win Streak to Six Matches

Top seed Mariam Elkheshen ’21 narrowly returned an angled shot to score a point against Brooks’s top player, sealing her third game and ending the match in straight sets. The win propelled Andover Girls Squash to a 6-1 win over Brooks on Wednesday, its second 6-1 win of the week. The team’s record now stands at 7-1.

In the matches against Groton, Chelsea Cho ’21 stood out in her quick defeat of her talented opponent, according to Kennedy Ndiaye ’22.

“Towards the top of the ladder, it gets a lot harder. I would say [Cho played well] because she had one of the tougher matches and still won really quickly,” said Ndiaye.

In preparation for the matches on Friday, the team focused on controlling the middle of the court, according to Ndiaye.

“Last week, we practiced having tight drives. We were working on our straight drives and making sure nothing came into the middle of the court, so we did a lot of practice with ‘no middle’ games,” said Ndiaye.

The team also worked a lot on its fitness over the course of last week in preparation for its games against Groton, specifically tabatas to increase stamina and explosiveness.

“We did tabatas, so a lot of high intensity interval training [so] that we could improve on our strength and endurance. That [way], it wouldn’t be an issue when we played Groton, so I think that was good. We had good stamina for those matches because of that,” Ndiaye.

Moving into its second match of the week against Brooks, the team focused more on its aggressive play and shiftier shots, an aspect of its game that improved quite a bit, according to Captain Skyler Spaulding ’20 and Mafi Pinot ’22.

“We have been working a lot on our offensive game, so we did a really good job on taking opportunities when our opponent hits a loose ball…We are hitting the ball to the front and making it hard for the opponent to return.” said Spaulding.

“We were keeping our focus and playing our basic game, and knowing how to attack and when to defend. So, I think it went pretty well for all of us,” said Pinot.

In order to prepare for its competitive match at Deerfield and Nationals the following week, the team has been practicing unique drills in different courts to improve versatility, technique, and fitness. This varied training also helped the team in its match against Brooks, according to Pinot.

“[Those drills were] very helpful for this match, because we were more aware of the shots we were playing and when to play them,” Pinot said.

On Wednesday, the team will play Middlesex on its home courts, hoping to extend its winning streak to seven matches as it continues to work on its fitness in preparation for the end of the season.