Pennsylvania’s TEVF (Tredyffrin/Easttown and Valley Forge Middle School) became the first public school girls squash program to win a Middle School team national title, while Connecticut’s Brunswick School earned the programs’ first title in five years Sunday, January 29, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
Sixty-seven teams competed in the fifteenth edition of the Middle School Nationals across five divisions. View all results on the Middle School Nationals tournament page. Finals photography is available on the US Squash Smugmug Page.
TEVF made history as the first public school girls program to win a middle school team national title, joining the Bronxville boys public school program who won the title in 2015.
The TEVF entered the draw as the two seeds and defeated defending champions Agnes Irwin 4-1 in the semifinals to reach the program’s first final against top seeds Greenwich Academy. In the final the Eagles earned a 2-1 lead with wins from No. 5 Jiya Naik and No. 2 Fiza Khan to set up a title-clinching win at the No. 4 position from Vaness Xu. The match ended with both teams cheering on their No. 3’s with GA’s Sophie Kwun and Lara Kim battling until Kim sealed the match 16-14 in the fifth.
“It was a team effort by the girls and they pulled it through, I’m very happy for them,” said TEVF Coach Jeremie Aissaoui Fischer. “It’s been a season where we’ve been working on discipline and structure, and today it showed. Congratulations to them on this deserved title. I’d like to thank Berwyn Squash & Fitness for hosting the TE Valley Forge Middle School squash programs. It’s not easy when you’re a public school to find a private facility to share their courts for practice. Thank to the tournament organizers and Berwyn squash.”
After reaching the finals in 2020 and 2022, Brunswick augmented the program’s impressive title record with their seventh over the course of fifteen years. Both top-seeded Brunswick and second-seeded Haverford progressed to the final dropping just one match along the way in the semifinals. In the final, No. 2 Miles Goulding and No. 5 Ian Henry gave Brunswick a 2-0 lead, then No. 1 Carson Beck stepped up to seal the title with a 3-0 win. Christopher Li earned Haverford its lone final win in a five-gamer against Williams Hawks at the No. 4 position.
“It’s been a couple of years where we’ve lost in the finals, so to close it out after watching their brothers fall short shows just how strong they are as a program and means a lot to all of us,” said Brunswick Coach Michael Krasnow. “I’m really proud of them, it’s been a long season and a tough weekend, but the fight they showed and character they demonstrated is what Brunswick squash is all about. We couldn’t be more proud.”
In the girls division II, Baldwin School defeated Lower Merion School District 4-1 in an all-Philadelphia final. Cleveland’s University School won their first Middle School Nationals title in the boys division II, defeating Connecticut’s Greenwich Middle School Squash Club 4-1 in the final.
Rhode Island’s Moses Brown School took home the boys division III title, defeating Connecticut’s St. Luke’s School 4-1 in the final.
