Megan, Ed, and Julie Cerullo: Squash Players Profiled on Squash Talk . com

THings that the Cerullos don't do...

Let's see. They all ski. Megan snowboards too.

Hmmm... They all play tennis. No big deal there; lots of people hit the local court once in a while. They are each fluent in multiple languages. Julie, Megan and Edward all speak English, Spanish and French. Edward also speaks Portuguese while Megan chose Italian (they both studied abroad; Brazil and Italy, respectively). So any one of the Cerullos would be useful as a traveling companion in a vast array of countries.

Megan and Julie like to write. Remind me to guard my job. Edward has a job lined up at a bank in New York, upon his approaching graduation, which combines his language skills with his business skills. Megan has that creative bug, fueled by a summer internship at Sotheby's in the European Works of Art Department. Business, the arts…two major areas the Cerullos have already started to conquer. Huh. There must be something they don't do.

Julie is only in high school, but she has already logged plenty of frequent flyer miles. She must have gotten tons from her trip to Hong Kong in August when she represented the US in the individual tournament at the World Junior Women's Championships. Oh yeah, Julie plays squash. As do Edward and Megan. And they are all, well, really good. Julie is a member of the US Junior Women's team, and is barely 17, so has a chance to play at the World Juniors again. As, for Megan and Edward; they both play for an Ivy League school and are team captains; together. Well sort of. Megan is the co-captain of the Brown women's team and Edward is the sole captain of the Brown men's team. So what can't the Cerullos do? It's way too interesting learning about what they have already accomplished to care about that.

"It's great to have sisters who are very, very, good squash players," said Edward. "I learn a lot from them. As for Megan, I have been alongside her since I was born. She is a tremendous squash player and I love watching her play. I wish I could make some of the shots she pulls out of her bag. Julie has made huge strides in her squash. I am extremely proud of her. She works really hard and loves playing. I know Julie will do just as well, if not better, in collegiate squash as we have."

The Cerullos do not come from a squash family, but they come from a very strong squash community; The Heights Casino.

"I started just sort of out of convenience," Julie said. "We live very close to the Heights Casino. I started playing tennis and squash when I was six. My brother and sister had already started playing squash, so I sort of took after them. They started playing tournaments around that same time. I only remember going to one tournament and watching them playing when I wasn't playing yet, and I was so jealous. When I did start playing tournaments, I was nine and at the top of my age group, the U11s."

While Julie started at the top of her age group, Edward had the opposite experience.

"The junior circuit was really tough for me at first," he said. "My first few years I didn't get too many wins under my belt. It was just matches, matches, matches. I didn't care if I lost in the first round because I knew there were four rounds ahead of me in the consos. Ultimately it was rewarding for me. I was getting a lot of experience. One year I was ranked 63 in the U19s, the next I was 36, and then I broke into the teens. The hard work paid off. I always liked getting far into a draw and knowing I was going to be fine because I had so much experience playing so many rounds in a short time. I knew my opponent was going to be more tired than me."

Megan was successful in junior squash, and Edward eventually made it to the upper echelons, while Julie continues to show the promise that was evident early on.

"I started out at the top of my age group and all the other girls started catching up, so I had to start working a lot harder," she said. "I realized if I wanted to stay at the top, it would take a lot of effort, so I started training a lot."

Julie remains with Julian Wellings and her other coaches at the Heights Casino, while Megan and Edward are coached most often by Brown head coach, Stuart leGassick, though Megan has extra assistance in her corner.

"Edward is a really good coach," Megan said. "He always knows exactly what to say to me in between games and it is useful and helpful. Often when he tells me what to do, if I execute it well then I will usually win the game. I don't think he'd want me to coach him in between games though."

With two of his leaders in the midst of their last season, leGassick knows he will feel their absence, and not only because of their place on the ladder. Edward started at No. 3 his freshman year while Megan played two. Both now play No. 1 for the Bears.

"I am going to miss them on two fronts," leGassick said. "They both play number one. They are both so well traveled, well rounded and know how to roll with the punches. Edward leads by example and is very disciplined. Megan leads on court, and is very understated and impressive. The fact that there will be no Cerullos in Brown squash is interesting."

Although, leGassick is hoping another Cerullo might be a Bear in a couple of years.

"Lots of programs will want Julie," he said, noting that his is no different.

However, the Cerullo kids have another trait in common that may not work to leGassick's advantage. They are all independent minded. Megan and Edward came to the conclusion that Brown was the best fit for them based on their own reasons and at different times. Julie does not know where she wants to go to school yet, although the Penn coach has taken note of her too, by way of coaching her on the US Junior Women's team.

"She was very easy to coach," said Jack Wyant, US Junior Women's Head Coach and Penn Women's Head coach. "She is a very determined, passionate squash player who cares deeply about playing the game properly. She goes out there with a game plan and does her best to execute it."

This spring will see all of the Cerullos back in the same city. Edward will return to New York for his job at a bank. Megan is dreaming about all of the possibilities that await her and seeing where her passions take her, knowing that initially it will be back to the city. And Julie will finish her junior year of high school and another season of junior squash. Edward and Megan plan to keep playing squash, though not as seriously as they have been, and Julie plans to keep fighting to remain around the top of the GU19s. Should be another exciting season in each of the young standouts' lives.

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