Tiger Weekend Wrap-up!

This past weekend was positively packed with competitive opportunities for our Squash Tiger crew. Our first Rehearsal Tournament went off with a bang, and if you haven’t read about it already you can catch up with the full story here. Additionally we had big contingents in the Princeton Day School Silver and Rhode Island Gold and great performances up and down the age groups.

Firstly, let’s look at the Princeton Day School Silver, co hosted by PDS and the picturesquely named Pretty Brook Tennis Club. Squash Tiger Star of the event was Ronnie, who took out the BU11 in convincing fashion! A great reward for hard work from one of our most popular youngsters! Many other great performances, with Dev and Neil making quarter finals and semifinals respectively in the BU13. In the BU17 we saw Humzah and Vaibhav making quarters and Edward enjoying a breakthrough win on his way to the semis. To the GU13, we saw the vastly improved Shona and Anya coming 2nd and 3rd, with Anika 4th in the GU15… what a weekend it was at one of our closest events and congratulations to the crew!

To the Rhode Island Gold, conducted in the luxurious surroundings of the Moses Brown School and Saint Andrews. As is so often the case, Isabella was the big dog of the event, making yet another final, this time the GU19. Isabella, the reigning GU13 National Champion and still only 13 years of age continues to impress. The GU17 saw both Anya and Stephanie make quarters as did Jasmine in the GU15. Meredith, playing up, made an impressive semi in the GU15 also! The GU13 saw two of our favorite 11 year olds Chloe and Mimi make a quarter and a semi of the event in fine style. Finally the boys standout was Yiden with a semi final in the BU11 together with Eric, playing up in the BU15, also making a quarter final. Wow, just wow, well done kids!

This week turns to a focus on our JCT performers, with final preparations for the Philly JCT that kicks off at UPenn on this coming Saturday. The first JCT of the season was a great success for the Tiger crew, you can refresh your memory of just how good this was, and let's hope we can keep the wins coming!

See everyone at training, big things ahead!

Rehearsal Tournament - CHANGE OF DATES!

Rehearsal Tournaments are one of the big planks of our whole Squash Tigers program! Rehearsal Tournaments are in-house events conducted at SQUASHTIGERS and if you're curious about what to expect, you can read the report of our first event on the blog!

The dates for our coming seasons Rehearsal Tournament Series, which comprises 9 tournament events, were set in August, with the best of intentions... Now, to borrow from the great Scottish Poet Robert Burns:

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry

In context, this means that the dates I selected for our Rehearsal Tournaments are now needing to be slightly altered. You can read the full list of the dates and enter on our dedicated website and there will still be the full 9 in the circuit, just slightly moved to accommodate players participation in events across the country.

A reminder that the circuit attracts entries from top juniors. They also provide a great home for beginners to gain rehearsal before they step out into the US Squash ranking world. Players play a minimum of three and a maximum of four matches on a Saturday, commencing first thing and concluding early afternoon. The event does not count towards rating or ranking, so players may be relaxed enough to develop their games in a friendly environment, yet serious enough so that they will be ready for the wider world when they get out there! ​

Full season Squash Tigers members receive free entry into our Rehearsal Tournaments, guaranteeing a strong draw up and down the experience levels but MUST CONFIRM THEIR PARTIPATION. Full season members have been entered into the event and should confirm they wish to participate by the Wednesday preceding the draw in order for Coach Claire to properly prepare draws.

Last seasons Rehearsal Tournaments were a tremendous success, with everyone from beginners through to National Champs participating and this season promises to be even better. Looking forward to seeing everyone on 10/21!

September Rehearsal Tournament : ST Reportage!

Saturday saw players descend upon Squash Tigers for our first Rehearsal Tournament of the 2023/24 season… and it turned out to be an awesome day! With everything from JCT contenders right through to players who are yet to begin their US Squash Tournament careers, there was something for everyone. The day saw great skill, sportsmanship and friendship up and down the courts!

For those of you new to the Squash Tigers world, as background, Rehearsal Tournaments are:

“ … in-house events conducted at SQUASHTIGERS! For the 2023-24 season (Sep 2023 thru May 2024), the Rehearsal Tournament Series comprises 9 tournament events. The Rehearsal Tournament Circuit attracts entries from top juniors. It also provides a great home for beginners to gain rehearsal before they step out into the US Squash ranking world. Players play a minimum of three and a maximum of four matches on a Saturday, commencing first thing and concluding early afternoon. The event does not count towards rating or ranking, so players may be relaxed enough to develop their games in a friendly environment, yet serious enough so that they will be ready for the wider world when they get out there!

Premier Division saw Jamie in top form defeating an always tough Alex in the final. Jamie has been putting in the work of late, having jumped back into the PSA world after his summer training hiatus. Alex was skillful in the final in what was ideal preparation for next weekends Philly JCT and defeated the always game Arman in the semi finals. Arman was one of the real standouts of the day, defeating Claire and JJ in what was a solid run through the event. Premier Division was filled out by Eric, Claire, Adam and Arjun who filled the 5-8 respectively after their qualifying victories.

Jonathan defeated Anika in the final of D1, getting over his qualifying loss to Adam and getting back to his winning ways. Anika on her behalf played solid squash throughout, with her match with Madeleine being one of the standouts of D1. Leo, Jayden, Evan, Siddhi and Ethan filled out the bracket having all won through solid qualifying matches to get into contention.

Jonah dominated D2 with his improved driving game and some excellent movement. Shoutout to our girls contingent, Audrina and Alison who will be better players for their five matches! Jonah shared the podium with Ansh and Dean, who were the 2nd and 3rd place finishers respectively, slightly edging out Yohan.

Overall a sterling event, with high standards of sportsmanship, skill and fellowship. Our next Rehearsal Event of the 2022/2023 season will be October 21 and you can expect to get a direct mailout reminding you to enter. As always, the events are perfect opportunities to get matches, matches and more matches to prepare for the rigors of US Squash Junior Circuit competition. There are few junior US Squash events of note on that particular weekend, so please be aware that we cap our entries at the first 50 players to register, so if you intend to compete, sooner rather than later is the best way to avoid disappointment!

For our Rehearsal Tournament crew, see y’all in October for the next installment in the odyssey… and for our regular Squash Tiger crew, see you at training tomorrow!