It has been a big year for New Canaan High School Squash. The Boys Varsity team finished as the #2 public high school team in the country and 27th overall in the U.S. (among both private and public schools) at the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships in February. Then the Boy’s Varsity Squash team concluded their winning season by defeating Bronxville High School to win the FairWest Cup.
New Canaan High School Squash Boys Varsity team finished as the #2 public high school team in the country and 27th overall in the U.S. (among both private and public schools) at the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships in February. Contributed
The FairWest Cup tournament was held on February 28th at Chelsea Piers in Stamford and represented the culminating event of the FairWest season. Teams from Greenwich, Bronxville, Darien, Rye and Fairfield competed in three Divisions. New Canaan Varsity A, in Division 1, played Greenwich High School first. The Rams secured a solid win as they beat the Cardinals 6-1:
- Grayson Bubrosky (1) defeated Steven Song 11-3, 11-2, 11-9.
- Killian Bubrosky (2) played Kieran Davis and won 11-5, 11-9, 11-6.
- Christian Megherby (3) beat Davis Lee 11-2, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7.
- Will Gruseke (5) defeated Jessica Powers 11-3, 11-6, 11-6.
- Sam Havens (6) won over James Huber, 11-2, 11-1, 11-1 and Teddy Holappa (7) beat Remy Versailles 11-7, 11-6, 11-8.
- Kyle Finnican (4) went to four games against Corey Bancroft but ultimately lost 9-11, 11-7, 6-11, 8-11. (Hal Holappa who plays #3 for New Canaan was out of town competing at the FASSP Gold Tournament at Yale University in New Haven.)
The Rams then played Bronxville High School and secured their victory:
- Grayson Bubrosky beat McLeod Abbott 11-9, 11-4, 11-3.
- Killian Bubrosky defeated Jack Buendia 11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6.
- Megherby secured a win over Delancey McFadden 11-7, 11-9, 11-4.
- Finnican beat Sam Abukhadra 11-5, 11-6, 11-6.
- Gruseke beat Bailie Jones 11-7, 11-2, 11-7.
- Havens triumphed over Hadley Barr in four games, 14-12, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4.
- Teddy Holappa had a tough and very close match, but ultimately lost to Ford Neild, 15-17, 9-11, 11-9, 11-13.
Darien High School won Division 2 and Fairfield was victorious in Division 3. There was no girls division at the FairWest Cup. The FairWest girls teams competed in their own season championship on January 31 at LifeTime fitness in Rye where they competed against Rye and Darien in very competitive matches.
The NCHS team now says a fond farewell to 15 seniors. Graduating this June will be: Boys Varsity (A and B)—Dylan Brennan, Grayson Bubrosky, Killian Bubrosky, Erik Burns, Kyle Finnican, Will Gruseke, Hal Holappa, Charlie Kallassy, and Christian Megherby; From Boys Junior Varsity – Trey Gesing, Thomas Karl, Carter Reehl, and Francisco Rocha; From Girls Varsity – Hailey Coutts, and Sami Marcus. Some of these seniors have played New Canaan squash since their days as Saxe Middle School students and formed close friendships because of the team.
Christian Megherby said, “NCHS Squash has really grown over the years. I started playing in middle school and through the team I was introduced to a sport that I love and will play for a lifetime.”
The team dynamic has really solidified since NCHS Squash was first founded in 2006 by parent and team advisor/coach Liz Schmidt.
She said: “This has been our strongest year to date. The top of our boys team has made me so proud. I have been working with a lot of them for 6 years and will miss all the seniors who are graduating. It’s a bittersweet farewell, but I know they will take with them the life lessons that have been learned on court over those years like resilience, teamwork and sportsmanship. The bottom of the team has worked hard and have really impressed me. I know they are all ready to move up and be a great competitive team next year. The girls teams have been amazing this year as well. They work so hard and next year will be exciting for them. It is a privilege to work with this group of kids as well as with the many parents who help make this happen like Janice Holappa, Betsy Sue Shannon and Louise Rosenberg!”
According to Killian Bubrosky, “It has been an honor to play for a team that shares so much enthusiasm on and off the court. The privilege of playing on the NCHS squash team has made me realize that it is more than just a game, but rather it is a foundation for acceptance and a place to build upon weaknesses. I want to thank everyone who has supported the squash team throughout my time on it and am looking forward to watching the program continue to grow and be successful.”
Coach Supreet Singh of Chelsea Piers echoes this sentiment about the enthusiasm of the players. “The NCHS Squash team was all about positive energy and fun this year.” The team had fun and developed friendships that will last a lifetime, but they also put in many hours of practice and hard work to achieve a great level of success.
Will Gruseke said that since middle school, “We have come all the way to playing in Division 2 at Nationals and finishing in the top 27 high school teams in the country! I feel like we have proved that we aren’t just any public school team—we are the New Canaan Rams—a force to be reckoned with!”
The team also attributes it’s high level of success to the support of parents and corporate sponsors which include: Karl Chevrolet, Brent Haney of Competitive Edge College Advisors, HeliNY.com, CBRE Group, Dinsmore Capital and Titan Advisors, LLC.
The NCHS Squash team continues to work on raising money for this non-funded program and is extremely grateful to its sponsors as any financial support is greatly appreciated. Questions about New Canaan Squash middle school or high school programs can be directed to Liz Schmidt at ebschmidt@optonline.net.
[This article was submitted on behalf of the New Canaan High School Squash Team.]