New Canaan Country School Wins National Squash Championship
New Canaan Country School’s varsity squash team took home Division VI Champion honors at the 2017 Head U.S. High School Squash Championship, held Feb 10-12.
Seeded ninth-twelfth in the all-boy division (due to the co-ed nature of their team), the squad faced a challenging field of opponents. The event, played on a variety of courts in and around the Hartford area, is the largest junior squash tournament in the world, drawing a total of 180 teams and more than 1,500 high school athletes.
Undaunted, the nine-member squad of seventh through ninth graders delivered a 4-3 upset victory in the opening round over Riverdale Country School (Bronx, NY), which proved to be the most difficult contest of the weekend. The Cougars went on to handily defeat teams from Loyola Blakefield (Towson, MD) 6-1 and St. Mark’s School (Southborough, MA) 5-2. In the finals, they faced Delbarton School (Morristown, NJ) and clinched the win solidly, 7-0.
“We received many compliments during the weekend about our tremendous team spirit, impeccable sportsmanship and resilience,” said Country School Coach Cynthia Badan. “I am tremendously proud of how our players performed under pressure.”
Members of Country School’s championship squash team included seventh graders Mary Duffy and Ella Schoonmaker both of Darien, eighth grader James Kontulis of New Canaan; ninth graders Megan Meyerson, Teddy Schoenholtz, Chuck Warren and Carolina Salvatore all of New Canaan; and ninth grade team captains Griffin Dewey of New Canaan and Bo Zeigler of Rowayton. In addition to Ms. Badan, the team is also coached by Country School’s Henry Nelson.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
