By Vidya Rajan
Photos by Dale Walker/DaleWalkerPhoto.com
This was the US Junior Gold Nationals, both the pinnacle and the grand finale of the junior squash season. Held at Demer Holleran’s Fairmount Athletic Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the event saw participation from 287 juniors in ten different divisions. The club was one of the few venues on the east coast that boasted 12 international squash courts in one location apart from the colleges with varsity squash teams. Holding the tournament in Philadelphia was also a return to roots for US Squash, which had been headquartered in Philadelphia for 32 years.
The championship certainly meant different things to different people; for Under-11 champions Cheraag Bajwa of Massachusetts and Chloe Chemtob of Florida, it marked the start of a long and prosperous junior career. For Boys’ Under-19 finalist Chris Callis of Pennsylvania, it signaled the end of the road for junior squash and a transition to the college circuit. For others, like Boys’ Under-19 champion Todd Harrity of Pennsylvania and the seven behind him, the outcome of the nationals determined their qualification for the US junior men’s team which will represent the US at the World Junior Men’s Championships this summer in Zurich, Switzerland.
And in fact, for Todd Harrity this was an idyllic end to a year of hard work. The 17-year-old not only won his fourth national title but also won both the Hunter Lott and Frank Millet selection tournaments this year, meeting Chris Callis in both finals. His only dropped match this season was to Kelly Shannon of Canada in the semifinal of the U.S. Junior Open. This year he stands undefeated in the US, having ceded games only to Callis. This summer, Harrity will play at the No. 1 position for the US Junior Men’s Team after playing at No. 4 two years ago, when the team finished 13th. As can be expected, Harrity is excited for this summer: “I will draw from that experience to make this one even better. It is great to get to play the best juniors in the world and meet new players.”
Off the court, Harrity is mild-mannered and reserved; his demeanor translates to his game of patient, attritional squash. He gives his opponents no options, leaving them to self-destruct—and most often, they do. After dropping the first game in the final, however, he quickly turned the match around to win the next three games decisively. His mental strength evidently aided him in making his comeback. “I told myself that if I just kept fighting, the hard work would pay off,” he says. “I knew I was fit, so I just tried to keep up the intensity.”
Harrity’s comeback wasn’t the only one that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. The Girls’ Under-17 final between Amanda Sobhy of New York and Yarden Odinak of Washington went to five games with Sobhy coming from two games down to take the match. Odinak won the first two games 9-3, 9-2 in a matter of minutes with confident, attacking squash. Just as the audience was convinced that the match would be entirely one-sided, Sobhy turned the tide with unwavering resolve to win the next three games 9-6, 9-3, 9-5. When asked about her rebound from two games down, Sobhy cited her mental makeup as part of the solution. “I was really nervous and my head wasn’t there in the beginning. After the second game my parents told me that it was all mental and I needed to relax, and I felt much more confident.” This is Sobhy’s second consecutive title after winning the Under-15s last year. The most surprising aspect of her win is that she has not one, but two years remaining in the Under-17s.
But the fact that Sobhy will still be eligible came as no surprise when taking into account the ages of other semifinalists, finalists and champions. Compared to previous years, the champions are getting younger. Olivia Blatchford, past British Junior Open champion who won the Girls’ Under-19 without the loss of a game, is a mere 15 years old. Likewise, Dylan Murray, who won the Boys’ Under-15 in a similar fashion, has an entire year more to compete in the Under-15s. In the Girls’ Under-17s, three of the four semifinalists will be eligible to play Under-17 again next year while in the Girls’ Under-19s, all four semifinalists will remain eligible. In the Girls’ Under-15s and Girls’ Under-11s respective finalists Katie Tutrone and Helen Teegan will stay in their divisions next year. And of course, Todd Harrity will have another year to dominate before turning 19.
It may seem like a mismatched array of miscellaneous facts, but it remains that the standard of US Junior squash is improving. It’s simple—players are better, younger. It no longer seems to matter whether juniors are in their “up” or “down” year of an age division. In any case, skill matters more than age and this is reflected in the results across the board.
But what does it mean? The fact that players are exhibiting more talent and skill at increasingly younger ages goes to show that the US might, in fact, have what it takes to compete and to consistently prove its merit at the next level—the international circuit. In the coming years, I’m sure we can expect to see a number of talented juniors making it to the late stages of the British Junior Open. We’re stepping up our game.
The younger players weren’t, of course, the only ones to make a mark in the competition this year. There were also a number of suppressed injuries that were endured while the players battled it out, letting their love for the game prevail. Amy Smedira of Ohio, Girls’ Under-15 champion, could relate to that upon playing her final match against Katie Tutrone of Maryland. “I was a bit nervous going into the final, knowing I had a stretched hamstring and a sprained ankle,” she says. “Other than that, I was really excited and I just wanted to get out there and play.” That she did, dominating the match 9-2, 9-3, 9-6. Tutrone, last year’s Under-13 champion, remained cheerful and upbeat throughout and let her indelible sportsmanship show through.
Tutrone’s close rivals Claudia Regio of Washington and Olivia Fiechter of Pennsylvania met in the final of the Girls’ Under-13 after powering through the earlier rounds, each without the loss of a single game. In the final, Regio was unable to hold on to a one-game lead over Fiechter after reaching her second consecutive Under-13 final. Fiechter covered the court incredibly well, however, and was glad to win after losing to Regio in five games in the semifinal of the U.S. Junior Open in December. “I had not beaten Claudia for the past two years,” she says. “This match, I felt like I had to redeem myself for the U.S. Open match.”
Another Olivia, one who has been taking US junior squash by storm since her Under-13 days, clinched the Girls’ Under-19 title in style. This season, Olivia Blatchford of New York returned to her native soil once more after training in England for the past several months. In the final against Julie Cerullo, the first game was a nailbiter until Blatchford finally took it 10-8. As she picked up momentum, the next two games were over quickly with Blatchford playing intelligent, aggressive squash. Blatchford plans to continue training in England, having only recently gotten used to her routine there: “The first few months were mostly a period of acclimation and adjustment, and only since New Year’s do I feel settled,” she says. Her aspirations for the future include playing professionally.
Though professional squash isn’t what all the Junior Closed champions have in mind, college squash certainly is, especially for Boys’ Under-17 Champion Tyler Smith of New Jersey. Smith beat Danny Greenberg of Pennsylvania in a repeat of their Under-13 final four years ago. Says Smith of his victory, “I wish I could’ve captured the moment. It was a good one.” Smith was one of the few winners to defy the seedings, having been seeded No. 4 in the Boys’ Under-17s. Another was TJ Deminski, Boys’ Under-13 Champion, who won the title after being seeded second.
The largest and, arguably, the most competitive draws were the Under-15s and Under-17s, which saw full draws for both Boys and Girls. While the Boys’ Under-19 draw was cutthroat and even saw some matches going to five in the early rounds, the Girls’ Under-19 faced a slight reduction in size from previous years with only 23 players this year. Many of the girls will be heading off to college in the fall, making way for the new crop of juniors that will rise up to take their place.
And finally, it’s important to note the champions’ outlooks towards success and generally towards the game. Says Amanda Sobhy of her long-term goals, “I just want to become the best squash player I can be and enjoy myself.” Surely, this is something we can all strive for—to measure success on a personal scale.
Todd Harrity, too, leaves us with wise words not to be forsaken: “I want to be able to look back at my achievements and be proud of what I have accomplished. I don’t want to have any regrets or ever feel that there was more I could have accomplished or that I could have worked harder.” Clearly, this kind of thinking pays off. It’s a good goal for us all.
