The U.S. Team Trials, to determine the fourth and final roster spots for the Men’s and Women’s National Squash Teams, were held last month at The Sports Club LA in New York City. The nation’s top juniors, collegians, and teaching professionals competed fiercely to earn a position on their team.
From November 5-14, both the Men’s and Women’s National Teams will be playing in the Pan American Squash Federation Championships in Guatemala. The Women’s Team will also be competing at the Women’s World Team Championships in New Zealand, November 29-December 4.
The Women’s Trial was a round-robin format with each player having four matches. Kristen Lange (Woodinville, WA) had a dominating performance, defeating all of her opponents in straight games, including a win over second place finisher Hope Nichols Prockop (MA). Third place, Maria Elena Ubina (CT), had several close matches and ultimately won against Hayley Mendez (NY), 3-2, and Katie Tutrone (MD), 3-1. Lange will now represent the Americans alongside Olivia Blatchford (Wilton, CT), Natalie Grainger (Greenwich, CT), and Amanda Sobhy (Sea Cliff, NY).
Princeton University’s Todd Harrity (Wayne, PA), the No. 1 seed, breezed through his matches against Kyle Gens (NY) and John Fulham (MA) before defeating Graham Bassett (NY) in the final, winning the trial without dropping a game. Harrity will join team members Christopher Gordon (Hartford, CT), Julian Illingworth (New York, NY) and Gilly Lane (Wyndmoor, PA) in Guatemala.
