Fords squash wins third straight MASA championship

The Haverford School varsity A squash team captured its third consecutive Mid-Atlantic Squash Association (MASA) title on Feb. 5 before a packed house at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

This year’s MASA tournament was compressed into three matches all in one day. The morning started with a friendly against their varsity B teammates. The second match was against Shipley varsity and the Fords defeated the Gators, 8-1. The one loss came from a default when Haverford’s No. 1 player, Duncan Joyce, had to leave the tournament to solo with The Notables in an a capella competition. Joyce was able to return for the afternoon's marquee event, a rematch with Inter-Ac rival SCHA.

Just as with the Inter-Ac championship weeks before, the stands were packed with vocal fans from both teams. After the opening round of matches, Haverford found itself in a 2-2 tie when Bill Wu and Christian Shah pulled out spectacular victories but P.J. Rodden and Sam Turner were unable to win their matches. Following the next round of matches, the teams found themselves in a 3-3 tie with a win by Spencer Yager, but a loss by Will Glaser. It was now up to Haverford’s top three players.

Joyce took the courts first and secured a 3-0 victory. Peter Miller was on next and found himself down 0-2. The tension was palpable among fans for both teams. Just as Grant Sterman took the courts for his match, Miller began to mount a comeback. Miller reeled off three straight games in his favor while Sterman won his match in three, also coming from being down 8-10 in game three but winning 12-10. The two juniors put Haverford over the top within 30 seconds of each other. It was a fitting conclusion to the tournament – Miller and Sterman have been playing squash together and against each other for nearly a decade.

After Haverford’s 6-3 victory, Coach Asad Khan said, “I am so proud of how the guys handled everything today. It was a long, hard day and SCHA has become such a fierce rival. Our boys played as a true team and really handled themselves well.”

Next up, the Fords head to the U.S. High School National Squash Championships in Connecticut, Feb. 10-12. Varsity A is the No. 1 seed in the country and looking to avenge their heartbreaking loss in the final last year to archrival Brunswick.