May
10

Hands-On Learning at CitySquash!

Hands-on, discovery-based learning opportunities have been a focus this year at CitySquash through our Elementary School Activity Club and our Middle School Wilderness Club.

In Activity Club, CitySquash’s elementary school students were in for a special treat one recent Friday afternoon – using toothpicks and tweezers as their tools, the young students dissected owl pellets! Working in groups of three, the excited team members dug through the regurgitated meals of owls, discovering bones and hairballs as they sifted through the pellets. The owl pellet dissection in Activity Club is one of the many opportunities for CitySquash’s elementary school students to experience hands-on, discovery-based learning. The students loved discovering the various pieces inside the pellet, from the jaw to vertebrae to skull of a mouse.

Likewise, CitySquash’s middle school students have been thrown outside of their comfort zones through Wilderness Club. New to CitySquash this year, students have grappled with the basics of survival, first-aid, and cooking through project based learning. They began the semester by making shelters and campfires, and this May, the students will be putting their new skills to the test by taking two weekend camping trips! Each trip is meant to provide a different set of challenges, like assembling a tent in the dark, that the students will tackle using the skills they learned in class. Our students can’t wait to hit the wilderness!

Apr
14

Chris Fernandez featured in St. Lawrence University Magazine

This Spring, Chris Fernandez, CitySquash alum and current Director of Squash, was featured in an article entitled “City to College to City” in the Spring 2016 edition of the St. Lawrence University Magazine. The article chronicles Chris’s journey to and from the Bronx and his ultimate goal of giving back to the organization that he loves. Read about Chris’s journey to the Bronx and beyond by clicking here: St. Lawrence University Magazine.

Mar
28

CitySquash Gets Ready for Spring Tour

During the last week of April, CitySquash coaches and academic staff will be taking team members on squash and enrichment trips near and far. We’ll be hitting the road and travelling both north and south, east and west – team members will visit Canada, Florida, and both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans! Elementary students will spend a ‘Night at the Museum’ in Philadelphia, while middle schoolers help clean up the Everglades. Between visiting southern plantations, cheering on NYCFC at Yankee Stadium, and exploring the Canadian wilderness, our team members are sure to have a spring break worth remembering!

Mar
21

CitySquash gives back at Project Sunshine Service Day

On Saturday, March 19th, 99 team members from third through eighth grade gathered at Fordham University for the annual Project Sunshine community service day. Project Sunshine is a nonprofit organization that provides cards and craft kits for children in hospitals. The CitySquash team, which included mentors, staff, and volunteers, was provided with the materials, and students made SunnyGrams and personalized journals with encouraging messages, silly jokes, and their own artwork. CitySquashers enjoyed the opportunity for a creative outlet, as well as a lesson in the importance of giving back to the community through service. If you’d like to learn more about Project Sunshine, please visit http://www.projectsunshine.org/

Mar
17

CitySquash Celebrates Six Boarding School Acceptances

March has been an exciting month for us in the Bronx as we learned that all six of our CitySquashers who applied to private high school this year have been admitted! Below is the list of the team members and their school acceptances. It will be the first time that we will be sending team members to Pomfret, Ethel Walker, and the Rectory School. Come the fall, CitySquash will have sent 63 team members off to private high schools. Congratulations to these lucky team members and thank you to all of our supporters for making it all possible.

Karla Dominguez	Episcopal High School
Mikey Garcia	Blair Academy
Vanessa Lucero	Pomfret School
Melanie Pestana	Brooks School
Kelsey Tejada	Ethel Walker School
Dainalee Velez	Rectory School

Mar
10

CitySquashers Complete Season at College Championships

Over the last two weekends of February, 13 CitySquash team members competed in the 2016 College Squash National Team Championships held at Yale University. In total, 41 urban squash college athletes participated in this year’s CSA National Championships. CitySquash is proud to have sent more students to this year’s championships than any other urban squash program. The list below includes all of our competing team members and their teams. Competing at the number 3 position for Bates, Darrius Campbell (Blair Academy ’13, Bates ’17) helped his team clinch the Summers Cup and was recognized as the Harrow Sports Player of the National Tournament for his exceptional team and individual performance throughout the weekend. For the second time in his college career, Darrius was also named to the All-NESCAC Second Team. Andrew Cadienhead (Taft ’13, Middlebury ’17) competed at the number four position for Middlebury and helped his team reach a top 16 national ranking in the Hoehn Cup. Congratulations to all of our college players who competed this season!

CitySquash CSA Team Championship Participants

Men’s

Kingsley Amoako – St. Lawrence University

Andrew Cadienhead – Middlebury College

Darrius Campbell – Bates College

Michael Kelly – St. Lawrence University

Gabriel Garcia – Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Santiago Moran – Connecticut College

William Pantle – Fordham University

Felipe Pantle – Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Women’s

Andreina Benedith – Franklin & Marshall College

Cris Margaret Frias Gonzalez – Franklin & Marshall College

Mariela Mendoza – Bowdoin College

Stacy Maceda – Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Katiria Sanchez – Trinity College

Feb
01

CitySquash Girl’s Win U.S. Middle School Title

Twenty CitySquash students competed in the 2016 U.S. Middle School Team Squash Championships held at Yale University from January 22^nd-24^th. The CitySquash teams had their most successful Middle School Teams ever, coming away as champions in one division. CitySquash’s Girl’s B team captured the Girls Division II title after beating five other teams to take home the title, including Eastern Greenwich Middle School in the finals. Coached by Bryan Patterson and Chris Fernandez, the lineup included Dalia Hipolito, Fatima Hernandez, Xitlaly Santos, Tita Hicks, and Mikayla Mitil – all CitySquash team members who also attend the Thomas C. Giordano Middle School 45 in the Bronx. Also competing in the tournament were three other CitySquash teams, not all were quite as successful as CitySquash’s Girl’s B team, but all of the team’s played excellent squash. Congratulations to CitySquash’s new champions and thank you to U.S. Squash for a great weekend!

Jan
27

CitySquash excels at Urban Team Nationals in Boston

CitySquash's BU13 Team

Seventy-five CitySquash team members from the Bronx and Brooklyn travelled to Boston over the Martin Luther King Day Weekend for the 13th Urban Team Nationals. CitySquash’s 12 teams, ranging from the U13 to the U19 divisions, competed at Harvard’s Murr Center and the SquashBuster’s facility at Northeastern University. The NUSEA sponsored tournament brought together 18 NUSEA programs in the largest Urban Team Nationals to-date. CitySquash had an impressive run at the tournament, making it into 5 of the 8 division finals. In the end, CitySquash‘s BU13 and BU15 teams came away with National Urban Squash Championship Titles and the BU19, GU15 and GU13 teams finished second in hard-fought championship matches against Squash Haven. Team members had a fantastic time at the tournament and played excellent squash. Thank you to NUSEA for running an exceptional event and to the Tennis & Racquet Club, the Harvard Club, and Belmont Hill School for hosting CitySquash throughout the weekend. Congratulations to CitySquash’s BU13 and BU15 teams and to all who participated!

Jan
25

Cristian Escalona featured in Episcopal High School Magazine following Route 66 Ride

This past summer, CitySquash team member, Cristian Escalona, embarked on a bike ride from Los Angeles to Chicago along Historic Route 66 alongside CitySquash’s Director of Squash, Bryan Patterson, and other team members and supporters. Read about Cristian’s journey across the country and his path from the Bronx to Episcopal High School by clicking here: Episcopal High School Magazine.

Jan
15

CitySquasher takes on Nick Matthew at the Tournament Of Champions

Jesse on court with Nick Matthew

During this year’s Tournament of Champions, CitySquash team member, Jesse Brew, got on court with three-time world champion, Nick Matthew. Jesse
wrote the following reflection on his unforgettable experience:

“On a wintery Tuesday afternoon, I had a chance to meet and play against the world’s best squash players. There it was: Grand Central’s hottest attraction, the Tournament of Champion’s glass court. Although I had never been there it felt really welcoming. I met lots of interesting players and people. One of the most interesting players who I met was Cameron Pilley. Cameron is number 13 in the world and from Yamba, Australia. I had never met anyone from Australia before. Cameron was good, but my next opponent was even better. My opponent was Nick Matthew – an England native, three-time world champion and current number three in the world.

I played a whole game with him, and even got a few tips! Nick taught me to fake a shot to throw off my opponent. Also, Nick Matthew is extremely fit so he can tire people out, which is another strategy I learned from him. He is definitely the hardest challenger I have met on court yet.

This opportunity was very special because it was my first time playing with a professional squash player. Thank you to the Tournament of Champions and CitySquash for giving me this amazing opportunity. It was something I have dreamed about and one that I will always remember! Thank you for everything, TOC and CitySquash, I really appreciate it!”

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