The Greens Farms Academy girls squash team bounced back from a heart-wrenching first-round loss to win three straight matches at the U.S. Squash High School Division IV Nationals over the weekend in Philadelphia.
No. 4 Jordan Moss and No. 7 Alexis Campbell won all four of their matches to go undefeated over the course of the three-day tournament
The Dragons bested Roland Park 5-2 on Sunday to win the Consolation 1 Bracket—its third straight national tournament win after falling 4-3 in the first round.
"Our team played very well in nationals," GFA girls coach Biby Castorena said. "They did their best and played well since the beginning of the season and we supported each other in every match and trained hard in every practice. My girls trusted me and they allowed me to guide them all the way to this point and for that I will be forever grateful."
Against Roland Park, Adelle Rubinchik (11-7, 11-9, 11-4), Moss (11-0, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10), Riley Meyer (11-4, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7), Jackie Elsener (11-6, 11-5, 12-10) and Campbell (11-3, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6) all earned victories as the Dragons ended the tournament on a positive note.
The day before GFA had beaten Blair Academy 5-2 with all five of those same Dragons also earning wins.
On Friday, GFA found itself in position to win its opening match by taking a 3-2 lead against Berkshire School. The Dragons couldn’t finish the job, however, dropping its last two matches to fall into the Consolation Bracket with a 4-3 defeat.
After that first round loss, the Dragons bounced back by routing Shipley by a 7-0 score. All seven Dragons, including Sahana Bettegowda and Emily Xue, won their matches by a 3-0 scores.
While Moss and Campbell both went undefeated during tourney play, senior captain Rubinchik went 3-1 as did Meyer and Elsener.
After winning the Division III national championship a year ago, the GFA boys program was bumped up to Division 2 this season.
Overall the Dragons finished 2-2 with both losses coming by 4-3 scores. No. 6 player Jacob Robinson went undefeated, winning all four of his matches.
Seeded 15th in the 16-team field, the Dragons went toe-to-toe with second-seeded Crystal Springs Upland in the first round. With the match tied 2-2, Crystal Springs recorded two straight wins to clinch the match as the Dragons fell by a 4-3 score.
The Dragons then fell again by a 4-3 score to Milton Academy in the first round of Consolation 1 Bracket. Eddie Xue got a win along with Oscar Hecker and Robinson.
Relegated to the Plate Bracket, the Dragons dominated Penn Charter by a 7-0 score. Xue, both Heckers, and Robinson got wins as did Aidan Weismann, Brady Melnick and Jack Kendall.
In the Plate final against Westminster School, the Dragons notched another win, this time by a 6-1 score.