Players from Five Programs Compete

The fifth annual National Squash Urban and Education Association (NUSEA)  Championships for participants in the urban youth enrichment programs that are sprouting up all over the country are being hosted this weekend at the Groton School, a prep-school in Massachusetts whose 12 courts have been over-run ever since Friday afternoon by a record number of competitors from the five organizations (namely SquashBusters in Boston, CitySquash in the Bronx, StreetSquash in Harlem, METROsquash in Chicago and SquashSmarts in Philadelphia) that were represented this year. Play extended nearly until midnight on both Friday and Saturday evenings, leading up to the final rounds in the eight divisions (the Boys and Girls under-13, 15, 17 and 19) this afternoon.

The event has been by any standards a huge success as a wind-up to a busy and extremely productive 2006-07 year for this type of program, whose concept has now grown to the point where it has become necessary for an association like NUSEA to exist that can help current squash programs improve in the way they serve their young charges and to support and fund the creation of new programs as well, thereby sustaining and building upon the enthusiasm for urban squash programs. In addition to the five well established programs mentioned above, there are also a few new programs operating, one in Providence (ProvSquash) and another in Washington, DC (the DC Squash Academy), as well as several slated to open in September (including Squash Haven in New Haven and SurfCity Squash in San Diego, with efforts underway as well in Palo Alto and Baltimore.

Greg Zaff, the former WPSA No. 2 and 1990 Canadian Open champion who pioneered this entire concept a little over a decade ago by establishing SquashBusters, the prototype on which all these subsequent programs have been modeled, has announced that he will be stepping down as leader of that program this September to head NUSEA in the hope of fueling this anticipated and ongoing proliferation.

The Boys Under-13 semifinalists were heavily represented by the relatively new (in its second year) METROsquash program, which is headed by recent ISDA doubles star and former Princeton captain David Kay. Christian Williams will face off in the final against Jordan Collins. The Under-15 semis, all featuring members of the Citysquash program that is led by former Harvard captain and early-2000’s Intercollegiate Individual finalist and Steve Green semifinalist Tim Wyant, devolved into a final between Chris Fernandez and Prince Mensah. CitySquash “alumnus” Freddy Hernandez, currently a student at the Canterbury School, will oppose Joshua Gray of Streetsquash (headed by another Harvard captain, namely George Polsky) in the Under-17 final, while in the Under-19’s, David Nash of StreetSquash, after rallying from 5-7 to 9-7 in the fifth game of his match-of-the-tournament semi last night against Patrick Williams, will go against Pedro Souza of SquashBusters.

In the Girls categories, Lanique Rhyne of CitySquash plays Ngozi Mwaoha on SquashBusters in the Under-13’s; Jesse Pacheco will play Andrea Tran in another CitySquash vs. SquashBusters match-up in the Under-15’s; Ashley Brooks of SquashBusters will meet last year’s Under-15 runner-up Samantha Matos of StreetSquash in the Under-17’s final; and Trinity College-bound Monete Johnson of SquashBusters will take on SquashSmarts torch-bearer Tempest Bowden in the Under-19’s final.