Squash team loses in tight contest against Needham
January 12, 2016
On Monday, Jan. 6, the high school’s squash team played against the only other public school squash team in the district, the Needham Rockets. It was an extremely close competition, with the Warriors losing in the final match. Even though the team lost, Coach Steve Lantos said he was very satisfied with how the match went.
“A lot of parents who were there told me how they loved the spirit between the two teams, which is exactly what a coach hopes for,” Lantos said.
One of the most intense matches that took place was between #18 Warrior sophomore Mitchell Schroeder and #18 Rocket Josh Feinstein.
In the first game, Schroeder took an early lead, quickly dismantling his opponent, winning 11-3. However, in the next game, Feinstein began to come back, and tied the match count at 1-1.
In the third game, Schroeder was able to reassert his dominance, scoring eight unanswered points to win the game 11-4. Schroeder now had the chance to put the match away in the fourth game, but was unable to win, as Feinstein beat him 11-8.
In the final winner-take-all game, Schroeder quickly went up 6-1, but Feinstein then scored six unanswered points, bringing the match to 7-6. Feinstein then tacked on three more points, with Schroeder getting two, bringing the score to 10-8.
Schroeder then scored three points in a row, giving him the lead, but to win, he had to win by two points. The two players rallied back and forth a couple of times before Schroeder hit a drop shot to win the game and the match.
Perhaps the most anticipated match of the day was between Brookline’s #1 and nationally ranked at #46 in the BU17 group David Ruben and Needham’s #1 and nationally ranked at #82 in the BU19 group Neel Das. Everyone who wasn’t playing in or reffing one of the other games came to watch this match.
Das quickly took a 3-0 lead in the first match, and carried that lead to the end, winning 11-7.
Ruben was able to quickly tie the score though, and won the second game 11-2.
It continued to go back and forth, with Das winning the third game 11-8, and Ruben winning the fourth 12-10. However, in the last match, Ruben broke the pattern. He was able to win the last game 11-8, which gave him the win for the match.
For the next game, Lantos said that he wants to work on individual skills.
“My son Joey, who is a nationally ranked player, was taking notes on players during their matches and seeing what they needed to do better,” Lantos said. “That’s what we’re going to try and improve on for next time.”
