Boys Squash Crowned NEPSAC Class C Champion
The Loomis Chaffee varsity boys squash team won the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) Class C championship on Saturday, February 11, advancing undefeated through the tournament and winning the final match 4-3.
Eight teams competed in the tournament, held at the Berkshire School, and the top-seeded Loomis squad defeated Middlesex, Groton, and St. George’s to take the crown.
In their first-round match against Middlesex, the Pelicans stayed focused and disciplined, which led to an eventual 6-1 victory. Standout performers included senior Chris Chun and sophomore Teema Thanunmanee, both of whom defeated their opponents by large margins.
In the semifinals, Loomis faced No. 5 seed Groton School, and the Pelicans once again came out soaring. Their strong effort earned a 5-2 victory over Groton, the eventual third-place team in the tournament. It was Loomis sophomores Clement Wang and Sam Wu who helped push their team to victory with mature efforts in both of their matches.
Advancing to the championship match, the Pelicans needed a victory over St. George’s School to win the title. However, St. George’s came out hot, going up 2-1 early. The Pelicans tied the team score at two when Wang won his match, but St. George’s took the next one to go up 3-2. Senior David Wu and Rayyan Haider were the final two Pelicans to play, and the team needed both of them to win in order to earn the Class C crown.
Wu lost both of his first two games and went down 2-0, but he was able to find his groove and overcame adversity to eventually win three straight games, including winning six consecutive points in the fifth game. Haider also took care of business with a 3-1 victory and the Pelicans emerged as the tournament champion, improving from their runner-up finish last year.
“I am incredibly proud of the boys and their effort and am extremely grateful to be able to coach this team,” noted head coach David Kim after the final match. “The team’s journey from last season to this season has begun to knit them closer together as a team, and the ways in which they covered for each other and picked each other up was apparent this weekend.”
The team travels to Westminster to face the Martlets on Wednesday, February 14, at 2:30 p.m. in one of the final regular-season matches of the year.