After a long season, HLM Squash has had another successful year, both championship and program-wise!  

For the first time ever, the girls’ teams had almost as many people playing as the boys’ team; the boys team has generally had three different teams (Varsity, Junior Varsity, Junior Varsity II), while the girls generally have had two teams due to a lack of numbers (Varsity and Junior Varsity).  They sure made a case for a third team this season, with almost twenty girls playing on the Junior Varsity team!

Over the first weekend of February, all five Harriton-Lower Merion teams participated in the Mid-Atlantic Squash Association Championships, quite possibly one of the toughest regional high-school championships in the country.

Girls Varsity started its quest for glory against Agnes Irwin School, the eventual third place team, with an 8-1 loss.  The girls eventually played Penn Charter, losing 6-3, after having played a tough Germantown Friends team, losing 7-2.  The girls differentiated themselves from the other teams by playing with lots of heart and character.  

Girls’ Junior Varsity started well in the deceptively tough Division 3, beating Penn Charter and going up against Friends Central.  The girls lost to Friends Central in the semi-finals, the eventual winners of the division.  After some rest, the HLM Girls JV went and played another difficult match against Germantown Friends, losing 5-4.

Boys Varsity (Division 1) started their run against Springside-Chestnut Hill and unfortunately suffered defeat against the eventual runner-ups of the division.  Later that same day, after going down 4-0 against local rivals Conestoga, the boys team showed resilience and came back to win 5-4, going on to beat Lawrenceville High School (New Jersey) 6-3, clinching fifth place in Division 1.  For reference, Division 1 boasts the likes of Episcopal, Shipley, and Haverford Boys, demonstrating the strength of the division.

        Boys Junior Varsity (Division 4) started off strong against Penn Charter, eventually suffering a crushing 5-4 defeat against the eventual champions of said division.  After some well-deserved rest, the team played against Malvern Prep, winning 8-1 and clinching third place in the division.

Boys Junior Varsity II started their day off with a 5-4 loss to Malvern Prep, eventually losing 9-0 to a tough Germantown Friends team.  Boys JV II was in the same division as their JV I counterparts.

After possibly one of HLM’s strongest outings at MASA, the varsity teams geared up for High School Nationals, all the way up in Connecticut, just one week later.  

The HLM Girls Varsity (Division 2) started their championship strongly, defeating Blair Academy (New Jersey) in a clinical 5-2 win.  They were unfortunately on the other end of a 5-2 result, losing to Rye High School (New York).  Staying resilient, HLM Girls went on to play the St. Paul’s School (New Hampshire) and won 4-3, eventually losing to the Hackley School (New York).

The Boys played in the top division in the country and had the ill-chance of starting their campaign against a robust Haverford Boys team.  After beating HLM, Haverford Boys went on to win it all, becoming national champions.  

HLM Boys went on to play Episcopal Academy, beating them in a highly-contested 4-3 outing.  HLM unfortunately lost against Pingry High School (New Jersey), in a devastating 4-3 loss that could easily have gone either way.  

This year was a monumental year for the Harriton-Lower Merion Squash Program and with this end of the year update, it is apparent.  

The HLM Boys Varsity team finished as the highest-ranked public school program in the country, a decoration that demonstrates the program’s ability and talent, particularly when compared to other private and boarding schools.  

The HLM Girls Varsity was also one of the highest-ranked public school teams in the country, having knocked off multiple private and boarding schools on their quest.  

From the entire HLM Squash team, we would like to give a warm farewell to the multiple seniors on the team, notably the soon-to-be Harriton Alums Catherine Liu, Mia Rosini, Austin DePetris, Cameron Temoyan, Kyhl Weber, Jared Blank, and Duncan Urquhart.  The HLM Squash program looks forward to next year, with lots of promising underclassmen ready to fill in the ranks.