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CHA squash wins Inter-Ac opener
by TOM UTESCHER
Chestnut Hill Academy began the defense of its 2005 Inter-Ac
squash championship last Tuesday, going on the road to knock off Episcopal
Academy, 5-2. In individual bouts, the visiting Blue Devils won at the
third through seventh positions, and also captured an exhibition match
at number eight, raising their season record to 3-1.
Episcopal had already been in action in the Inter-Ac, having lost to
Penn Charter, 2-5, and having swept Malvern Prep, 7-0. The setback against
Chestnut Hill gave EA a record of 1-2 in the league, 2-3 overall.
A home-court advantage definitely exists for the Churchmen. In a carry-over
from the days of American-style hardball squash, Episcopal still uses
the old, narrow courts that began to be phased out in this area almost
a generation ago. Upgrading the facility to international-spec courts
didn’t make sense for the City Line school, which will soon move
to an entirely new campus near Newtown Square.
In their loss to Penn Charter back on January 5, the Churchmen had captured
their two wins at number one and two, and the same scenario developed
when Chestnut Hill came to call last week. CHA number one Brooks Russell
notched a 9-3 win in the opening game of his match, but his opponent,
Harvard-bound senior Trevor McGuinness, is the top-ranked junior player
in the country, and he wrapped up the next three games, 9-1, 9-6, 9-1.
The second component of Episcopal’s one-two punch is Todd Harrity,
who won 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 over Blue Devils number two Nick Pearson. Pearson
learned last month that he gained early admission to Hobart College, which
opened a new squash facility just a few years ago and saw its team move
into the top dozen in the national rankings last winter.
After these two matches, the fun was over for the host team, as Chestnut
Hill prevailed the rest of the way down the ladder. Tyler Stout got it
going for the Devils in the third spot, taking down rising EA star Brandon
McLaughlin (an eighth-grader), 9-3, 9-2, 9-1.
Visiting number four Pat Davis charged to a 9-1 win in the opening game
and went up 7-0 in the second frame, but EA’s Ben Lurio dug in his
heels and tied the game at 7-all. Davis got back on track, however, winning
both that game and the third round at 9-7, with match point coming when
the CHA man hit a rail along the left wall.
Bob Goldman of the Blue Devils went up, 9-1, 9-3, in the fifth spot,
and after host Peter Vale delayed defeat by winning the third game at
9-4, Goldman romped in the fourth, 9-0.
Chestnut Hill number six Steve Wetherill and number seven Chip Culp each
opened up with a 9-0 win. Wetherill went on to take the next two frames
from Woodie Hillyard, 9-3, 9-2, and Culp finished off EA’s Yasha
Shahidi, 9-7, 9-5. In the exhibition bout, Dave DiDonato downed Max Young
of Episcopal, 9-3, 9-4, 7-9, 9-1.
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