Greenwich Academy Captures Tenth Straight, Brunswick School Takes Third Straight

Some of the top independent school players who competed this weekend at the New England "Interschols" .. photo © 2006 Vaughn Winchell.

In a compelling demonstration of the depth and skill that has become their squash program's trademark, the girls of Greenwich Academy, led by veteran coach Karen Schmidt-Fellner and No. 1 player Caroline Sennatt, swept to victory in the season-ending New England Interschols, which was hosted at the Phillips Exeter Academy, where Schmidt-Fellner starred as a prep-school player in the late 1970's. It was the 10th consecutive team title for the all-girls school, which is connected to the all-boys Brunswick School, which won the boys Interschols crown for the third consecutive year.

Greenwich Academy's total of 144 points far exceeded that of Groton, which placed a distant second with 118. Rounding out the top eight teams were Milton (96), St. Georges (85), Choate (84), Taft (79), Exeter (71) and Noble & Greenough (63). The boys competition, played at Groton, was much closer, with Brunswick garnering 111 points, five points better than Taft's tally of 106, followed by Groton (80), Belmont Hill (77), Milton and Exeter (tied with 75 points each), St. Pauls (63) and Westminster (57).

Both events in the A bracket, which consisted of the top 16 teams in New England, featured seven separate flights, with the No. 1 players of each school competing in one draw, the No. 2's in another, and so on. Points are awarded based on order of finish, with each winner of the boy's tourneys adding 18 points to his school's total, 15 points for the runner-up, 14 for finishing third, 13 for fourth, and so on. The girls had a slightly different point system:
22 points for the champion, 18 for second, 16 for third, 14 for fourth, etc.

The system does mean that someone could be the second best squash player in all of New England and not get a chance to compete for the New England Interschols title if the best player happens to be from the same school. The boys crown was won by top seed Mark Froot of Belmont Hill, who defeated Will Morris (St. Pauls) in the quarters and Nikhil Seth in the semis, both in three, before out-playing the second-seeded Reed Endresen of Rye Country Day 9-1 9-7 6-9 9-3 in the final.

Seeding also held up in the girls division, with No. 1 Sydney Scott of Taft prevailing over No. 2 Alia Aziz of Groton, 5-9 9-5 9-5 9-5 in the final.

Scott and Aziz blanked Caroline Reigeluth (Westminster) and Sennatt in their respective semis. The latter is one of four seniors in Greenwich Academy's top seven, which means that there is at least the possibility that the extraordinary team depth that has so often keyed the school's dynasty may become less of a strength next season, when Coach Schmidt-Fellner will have more holes than usual to fill.

The varsity members of the two Greenwich-based perennial-New England champion day schools have both an excellent squash facility to practice in and, perhaps more significantly, access to a plethora of expert pros and coaches based at private and public clubs in the Greenwich/Westchester area. Included in this number are recent USSRA Hall Of Fame inductee Peter Briggs, PSA and ISDA star and current USA men's team coach Chris Walker, two-time S. L. Green champion Damian Walker, two-time S. L Green winner and ISDA standout Preston Quick, former WISPA top-25 Narelle Krizek and her husband Rob, former world No. 2 Rodney Martin and premier British coach and former U. S. age-group champion Richard Millman.

Coach Schmidt-Fellner herself has been the manager of the USA women's team for many years, and she seems confident that she can successfully replace the quintet that will be graduating this spring. There is no question, according to Exeter boys and girls coach Kirk Randall, who served as tournament chairman for the girls event, that the depth and quality of prep-school squash has grown considerably throughout the 2000's, and this trend seems likely to continue, as does the growth of junior squash nationally during the foreseeable future.