Squash Defeated in U.S. High School National Championship

Brunswick squash was defeated by St. Andrew’s, 4-3, in the finals of the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships at the Arlen Specter Center in Philadelphia on Sunday evening. St. Andrew’s captured the title in its first-ever finals appearance, topping the Bruins in a Championship match that came down to the wire.

After their 5-2 semifinal win over Haverford late on Saturday night, Brunswick knew that it would need to lay it all on the line against the tournament favorite St. Andrew’s. In each of their previous three meetings, Brunswick had fallen short by narrow margins. However, the team felt that they had been getting better as each day of the season passed, and the match was expected to be decided by a razor’s edge.

Once again, it would be crucial for Brunswick to get off to a hot start, and on Sunday that task fell on the shoulders of Oliver Velasco and Henry Raine at #3 and #4. Velasco's game was peaking at exactly the right time, and he used the energy of the center stage to stun his opponent right off the bat. Before St. Andrew’s knew what hit them, Velasco was streaking to a 3-0 victory.

The team also had high hopes for Henry Raine, who had rolled through the season without dropping a single game. He had a much tougher test on Sunday with his St. Andrew’s opponent, and things looked dire when he dropped the first two games. Undeterred and laser-focused, Raine came storming back, erasing the deficit and willing himself to a come from behind 3-2 win. Up 2-0 early, the momentum was swinging in Brunswick’s favor.

Will Newton looked to continue that trend at #5, but dropped the first game. Midway through the second game, Newton took a racquet between the eyes and had to leave the court for the trainer’s table. Tournament officials decided to assess St. Andrew’s with a game misconduct and awarded the match to Brunswick. Up 3-0, the Bruins were one win away from the title.

While chaos reigned on Newton’s court, Johan Hodgson, at #2, was facing a very difficult and physical opponent. Despite his best efforts to keep St. Andrew’s on the back glass, he lost in four games to narrow the margin, 3-1.

Next up for the Bruins were Will Newman and Cole Cline at #1 and #6. Newman would be facing the top junior player in the country, and so Brunswick had its sights set on Cline’s match. Newman would fall in three games on the center court as Cline dueled his opponent in front of an ever-growing crowd. After taking the first game, Cline could not withstand a withering comeback from St. Andrew’s and fell 3-1.

With the teams locked at three apiece, it would all come down to the #7 matchup, and Anden Boulan for Brunswick. Down early to a heavily favored St. Andrew’s opponent, Boulan would have to dig deep if he wanted to give ‘Wick a chance at the title and erase an 2-0 deficit. The third game was a nerve-wracking, back-and-forth battle. Boulan was able to level the game at 10-10, and would not give an inch to his opponent. He gritted out a 16-14 win in the third, and then rolled to win the fourth game, too. The championship would be decided by the fifth game of the last match of the 3-3 contest. While he clawed tooth and nail, Boulan could not keep up his success and lost the deciding fifth game, 11-4.

Coach Ryan Abraham had this to say: “Although I’m proud of every single one of our players for the effort they produced, I would like to commend Anden Boulan in particular. Coming into the tournament as our #8 alternate, he was called into action when our #7 went down injured. He stepped up to a seemingly insurmountable task in the final when the score was tied 3-3.

"He faced the highest ranked #7 player in the tournament and, despite losing the first two games quickly, he never gave up, forced the fifth game, and made his opponent earn that match. I’m impressed with and proud of his performance and the character he displayed.”

“It was an epic match,” Coach Alister Walker said. “Everyone should hold his head up high. The boys will learn a ton about handling pressure and using it to their advantage. Winning is a science, and that was a big lesson as a team. We will bring home the national title soon.”

That’s all for Brunswick squash this season. The players experienced heartbreak and triumph, but most importantly, they worked incredibly hard and improved every single day. The team would like to thank our seniors — Will Newton, Cole Cline, Bennett Klein, and Alex DeLuca — for their commitment to the team this season and over the years.
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Brunswick loss to St. Andrew's 4-3 (results by order of finish)
#3 Oliver Velasco def. Alex Arader 3-0 (11-4, 14-12, 11-2)
#4 Henry Raine def. Lars Gertsen 3-2 (9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8)
#5 Will Newton def. Causey Green 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7)
#2 Johan Hodgson loss to Ewan Harris 1-3 (6-11, 11-8, 3-11, 8-11)
#1 Will Newman loss to Alex Dartnell 0-3 (6-11, 2-11, 2-11)
#6 Cole Cline loss to Adam Elkaliouby 1-3 (11-5, 7-11, 7-11, 8-11)
#7 Anden Boulan loss to Thiago Cabrejos 2-3 (6-11, 5-11, 16-14, 11-9, 4-11)