Haverford School Middle School squash team wins national championship

The ninth annual U.S. Middle School Squash Team Championships wrapped up this past weekend at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Each team competes with their top five players and The Haverford School entered the tournament with two teams both competing in Division 1. Both Haverford A and B Middle School teams were undefeated during their regular season so they headed to the National Championships with great energy and confidence along with Haverford’s new Middle School Head Coach Asad Khan. In the first round of Nationals, Haverford A defeated Meadowbrook School of Weston 5-0; defeated the Springside Chestnut Hill B team 5-0 in the quarterfinals; and then the Bronxville A team 4-1 in the semifinals. In the finals, Haverford A competed against the Springside Chestnut Hill A team.

Before Co-Captain and No. 4 player Quintin Campbell started his match in the final against SCH, eighth-graders Christian Shah and Yeshwin Sankuratri had already won their matches at the No. 2 and 5 positions. With Campbell’s victory, Haverford had won the final with the required minimum three wins out of the total five matches. Even though Haverford had already cinched the championship, eighth-grader Carter Joyce gave everything he had in a nail-biting 4 games with 3 going into tiebreaker but he succumbed to his opponent in the end. Twin brother and Co-Captain Graham Joyce remained undefeated against SCH at the No. 1 position winning in three decisive games. Shah and Campbell’s performances during the weekend were especially noteworthy, as they did not drop a single game throughout the tournament.

Scores from the Championship:

No. 1 Graham Joyce (THS) def. Charles Larkin (SCH) 11-6, 11-9, 11-4

No. 2 Christian Shah (THS) def. Christian Mazzarelli (SCH) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8

No. 3 Chase Cook (SCH) def. Carter Joyce (THS) 11-2, 16-14, 12-14, 13-11

No. 4 Quintin Campbell (THS) def. Merritt Wurts (SCH) 11-7, 11-6, 11-7

No. 5 Yeshwin Sankuratri (THS) def. Jake Scholl (SCH) 13-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8

The Haverford School Middle School B team finished ninth in the tournament by winning the Consolation Finals of Division 1 after a close 3-2 victory over Meadowbrook School of Weston. When Haverford’s seventh-grade B team Captain Morgan Shatzman stepped on the court, matches were tied at two wins by each team. Shatzman played exceptionally well and defeated his opponent in four games to claim Haverford B’s win in the Consolation Finals.

The Haverford School Middle School squash A team includes Charlie Baker, Quintin Campbell, Carter Joyce, Graham Joyce, Yeshwin Sankuratri, and Christian Shah; the B team includes Robert Driscoll, Grady Herbert, Cyril Leahy, Bo Page, Morgan Shatzman, and Tyler Zimmer.