Exhibiting improvement throughout the season, the Greenwich Squash girls ‘A’ team produced a successful regular season in the FairWest Public School Squash Association, then advanced to the quarterfinal-round of the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recently.

Greenwich Squash, which is a 100% parent-driven organization that receives no financial or administrative support from the Greenwich Public School system and is run and managed by volunteers, has an Elementary School, Middle School and High School program, with its High School program including boys and girls teams. Since 2017, more than 15 players from Greenwich High School, who have competed for Greenwich Squash have proceeded to play the sport at the collegiate level.

At the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships, also known as ‘Nationals,’ Greenwich Squash’s girls ‘A’ team competed in Division V of the tournament. Seeded sixth, Greenwich registered a 4-3 win over Nardin Academy from Buffalo, N.Y., in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals of the national tourney, held at the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center in Philadelphia.

“It was really amazing,” said Greenwich sophomore Tavi Choudhary, who played at the No. 6 position for the team at the U.S. Squash Championships. “Because of COVID, we didn’t have the chance to go to Nationals and this year, it was great to see how Nationals work. The Specter Center was so inspirational to us since it had so many great squash players we aspired to be like.”

In Greenwich’s 4-3 victory against Nardin Academy at the U.S. Squash Championships, Christine Song, who served as one of the captains, was victorious at the No. 1 spot for Greenwich. Song posted a 3-0 win at the top spot, winning her match in impressive fashion, 11-3, 11-3, 11-2.

At the No. 2 position, Greenwich’s Mariam Fahimi, who was also on the skiing team for GHS this winter, cruised to a 3-0 win vs. Nardin Academy in the opening round. Fahimi won her match by game scores of 11-0, 11-1, 11-1.

At No. 3, Amanda Wong, also a team captain, gave Greenwich a 3-0 victory, taking her match, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3 in the opening round of Nationals. Erin Beiley (No. 4 position), a Greenwich captain as well, lost a tough 3-1 match to her Nardin Academy opponent, while captain Samantha Scharff (No. 5) notched a 3-1 win for Greenwich in the first round (13-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-3).

Choudhary (No. 6) lost three straight tight 11-9 games against Nardin, while teammate Kate Duff (No. 7) also lost a tough, competitive 3-0 match.

Choudhary was drawn to squash, after playing tennis for a while.

“I used to play tennis and got an opportunity to play squash,” she said. “I enjoyed it a lot and I strongly encourage other people to join, even if they are beginners. The squash team has a good spirit and it can be a sport which can be learned quickly.”

After defeating Nardin Academy, 4-3, Greenwich Squash dropped a 6-1 decision to Moses Brown School in the quarterfinal-round of the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships. Fahimi earned Greenwich’s win, taking her match, 11-4, 11-3, 11-9, at the No. 2 spot against Moses Brown School.

Greenwich played in the FairWest Public School Squash Association with Connecticut schools such as Darien, Fairfield (co-op), New Canaan, New Haven and Westport and New York Schools such as Briarcliff, Bronxville and Scarsdale to name a few.

“With me and my teammates’ dedication for only a year, we made it to Nationals with our hard work,” Choudhary noted. “The matches this season went really well. We had a fair share of wins and losses, but we ended up celebrating each other and focusing on things we need to get better at. For next season, we hope to move up division and put in more hard work.”