Seen here stretching out to deliver a shot to the front wall of the court, SCH senior Andrew Dolente emerged as one of the few Blue Devils to win an individual game at Haverford School last week. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

The squash squads at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and Haverford School both brought 5-0 overall records into last Wednesday’s Inter-Ac League showdown on the Main Line, but those in squash circles knew that while the SCH Blue Devils have a very good team this winter, the Fords are positively loaded.

Led by national number one Sean Hughes, a Harvard-bound senior, Haverford repulsed the visiting Devils, 8-1, with seven bouts being decided (in the Fords’ favor) in three straight games.

Saving SCH from a clean sweep was Henry Kelly, who squared off at the number four spot against fellow senior Will Means. Means captured the first and third games, 11-7, 11-3, while Kelly won the second round, 11-9, and then prevailed in an extended fourth game, 13-11. He then clinched the match with an 11-9 victory in the fifth stanza, making the lone mark in the Blue Devils’ win column.

The only other contest to go past three games was at number six, where SCH senior Andrew Dolente opened with a 13-11 win and then saw Fords sophomore Grant Sterman storm back to take the second game, 11-1. Dolente provided more of a challenge for his rival in the third round, but eventually succumbed, 12-14. The SCH man got up 9-6 in the next segment, but Sterman rallied to win, 11-9, wrapping up the match.

At the top of the ladder, Haverford’s Hughes took down Springside Chestnut Hill junior Zane Jeka, 11-5, 11-7, 11-3, and one step down SCH senior Harrison Kapp fell to junior host Duncan Joyce, 11-5, 11-1, 11-4. Visiting 11th-grader Luke Stauffer won a respectable number of points in the third spot, but the match went to Haverford sophomore Peter Miller, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9.

One flight below Kelly, Blue Devils junior David Brenman put up six points in the opening game and seven in each of the next two against senior Justin Shah of the Fords. Dolente’s twin brother, Eric, was playing at number eight, where he lost 7-11, 5-11, 10-12 to Sam Turner, a 10th-grader for the host team.

The other two entries for SCH were freshmen, number seven Michael Berry and number nine James Mazzarelli. Both played Haverford juniors, with Berry bowing to Will Glaser (11-6, 11-1, 11-7) while Bill Wu of the host team took the measure of Mazzarelli, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5.