Title: Squash Season Culminates in National Championship

This past weekend, the University School Varsity Squash team travelled
to Philadelphia for the 2016 United States High School Team Squash
Championships. The team enjoyed success at every stage of the
tournament, and ended up as the Division 5 National Champions.
Senior co-captains Adam Cristal and Jason Outcalt led this years
national championship team, which consisted of the schools top seven
varsity squash players. The remaining team members included senior
Will Johnson, juniors Henry Newell and Max Adelstein, and sophomores
Phillip Richter and Tony Zhang. The players were also led by the
coaching efforts of Head Coach Jonathan Bridge and Assistant Coach
Craig Mueller. University Schools latest triumph continues the teams
history of success at the national level; in 2014, the team won 1st place
in Division 4, and in 2015, the team had a strong performance in
Division 3.
This culminating victory came as a result of a long and challenging
season. Throughout the season, the squash team improved as a whole
by competing against significantly better teams. By playing teams in
Divisions 3 and 4, such as Mercersburg Academy, Potomac School, and
Canisius High School, University Schools squash players gained
valuable experience and enhanced their games.
Additionally, the team began practicing in early October, making the
season half a month longer than it has been in previous years. The
extra two weeks played an important role in the teams success, giving
the players additional time to work on conditioning and to refine
techniques.
As this season comes to an end, the players turn their attention to next
years season. Unfortunately, the team will lose their three best
players as they go off to college next fall. In order to compensate for
this loss, current junior and sophomore team members plan on putting
in a great deal of practice during the offseason. Through hard work and
strong leadership, the team hopes to achieve the same kind of success
next year.