Record Number Compete in 4th US High School Team Championships

Greenwich Academy and Episcopal Academy teams and coaches, with Bryan Patterson (eighth from left, back row), after whom the girls trophy has been named this year.
Greenwich Academy and Episcopal Academy teams and coaches, with Bryan Patterson (eighth from left, back row), after whom the girls trophy has been named this year.

By Suzy Schwartz

Sixty-six teams of seven players made up the largest gathering of US junior squash players ever at the 4th US High School Team Championships, held at Yale University and Choate Rosemary Hall in New Haven, February 9-11, 2007. This represented a 20% increase in team participation, with teams coming from 11 different states.

The tournament featured an “A” division and a “B” division for both the Boys and the Girls for the first time ever, with the “A” divisions consisting of the top-16 teams. Last year the Boys’ “A” division trophy was named the Justi Cup, in honor of Melinda Justi, the Phildelphia founder of the US High School Team Championships in 2004. This year, the Girls’ “A” division trophy was named in honor of Bryan Patterson, the respected coach now at Chestnut Hill Academy Spring Side (CHASS), for his numerous contributions to junior squash development nationally. Both were on hand to present their respective trophies to the winning teams and to address the crowd at the well attended event.

William Penn Charter School and Brunswick School teams and coaches, with Melinda Justi (far left), after whom the boys trophy was named last year in honor of her founding of the tournament in 2004
William Penn Charter School and Brunswick School teams and coaches, with Melinda Justi (far left), after whom the boys trophy was named last year in honor of her founding of the tournament in 2004

In the Boys’ “A” division, three-time champions Lawrenceville School (NJ) faced a tough loss to Brunswick in the semifinals. Brunswick School’s (CT) team, made up of: James Clark, Travis Judson, Robbie Berner, Clay Blackiston, Will Browne, Craig Matthews, Wes Wynne, and Leighton Van Ness, was defeated by a score of 5-2, by Penn Charter (PA), made up of: Chris Callis, Alex Domenick, Matt Domenick, Steve Harrington, David Hilton, Ross Harrow, Pat Brady, and Hunter Beck. The Girls’ “A” division also saw a new champion, with Episcopal Academy’s (PA): Logan Greer, Anne Madeira, Lexi Van Arkel, Libby Eyre, Sarah Mumanachit, Emily Halpern, Monica Stone, and Kim Kirkpatrick, defeating returning champion Greenwich Academy’s: Natasha Kingshott, Cecilia Haig, Izzy Spyrou, Katie Harrison, Lily Fast, Meredith Schmidt-Fellner, Clare Berner, and Alex Burnett, by a score of 5-2.

In the Boys’ “B” division Tabor Academy (MA), made up of: Nikhil Seth, Jay Dolan, Vir Seth, Evan Mattiasen, Miles Brewer, Myles McGreevey, and Weslley Grover, defeated Brunswick’s “B” team made up of: Sam Haig, Spencer Hurst, Parker Hurst, Chris Baldock, Jamie Davies, John Dudgik, and Gates Torrey, by a score of 4-3. In the Girls’ “B” division, Middlesex School’s (MA): Stephanie Cabot, Carolyn Kaemmer, Serena Fagan, Whitney Flynn, Roxana Mead, Justine Parisi, Kitty Haydock, and Allie Dempsey, defeated Hotchkiss School’s (CT): Dana Brisbane, Leila Clifford-Ong, Allie Bradford, Charlotte Dillon, Katie Ellis, Mary McKenna, Rosemary Quick, Catherine Morris, and Ellen Choi, by a score of 5-2.