On Sunday, October 24^th we held our 11^th Annual Black & Orange Day at the M.S. 45 Field in a new outdoor format with the help of M.S. 45, our oldest partner school in the Bronx.

Over 100 team members, family members, and mentors competed in outdoor squash, word scrambles, kickball, and soccer. Going into the final Basketball competition worth three points, the Black Team led the Orange Team 18-16.  

This year, the shirts featured the initials “JS” to honor our team member James Solano who tragically passed in 2020. After hearing his friends speak about the impact he had on their lives and countless others, we dedicated the Basketball game to his memory. At the end of the day, it was the Orange team with the game-winning shot to put a cap on our 11th Annual Black & Orange Day. Below are photos of the event and competitions.

After a virtual year in 2020, we want thank all who came and helped make it a memorable day for the CitySquash team!

The changeover of innings during kickball 

The Orange team cheers on their squad during soccer

CitySquash’s version of outdoor squash!

The Orange Team celebrates the game winning layup! 

The Black Team

The Orange Team

A 9th grade practice group is all smiles under their masks after coming in from an afternoon of squash and academics at NYSC White Plains.

Middle schoolers clean up a local park as part of a service day with Bronx River Alliance.

A group of team members practice on Maspeth Welding’s outdoor squash court in Queens.

A day of fun and fall activities abound at the Queen’s County Fair.

 

 

Stephany & Camille enjoyed outdoor games as part of their daily camp routine. Camille said, “I like when we play sports and am always excited for our field days.” Stephany loved “being able to see [her] friends and spend time together.”

CitySquash returned to in-person programming this summer for the first time since March 2020! Summer camp in the Bronx and Brooklyn kicked off on July 6^th and ran through August 6^th. Team members went daily for academic enrichment and squash instruction, and traveled on Fridays and weekends for field trips and squash tournaments. The return to in-person was welcomed by all after over a year of virtual programming. High school team member Randy said, “it feels great seeing all of my teammates once again and being able to be excited to get on court with each other.” Another high schooler, Alexis, added, “after not playing for such a long time, it’s great to be back at it, especially the games.”

Above: CitySquash alum and new Director of Elementary School Academics, Bianca, helps Luxe with a math problem.

Below left: High schoolers pose for a photo mid-practice at NYSC White Plains.

Below right: A group in Brooklyn works on their swings at The Heights Casino.

Travel has always been a big part of the CitySquash experience and it’s been great reincorporating field trip, tournament and summer camp travel this summer. Field trips included touring the Vassar College campus (see above photo), walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, and geo-cashing in Central Park. We are grateful to the external camp partners who have enabled over 65 team members to travel for sleepaway experiences at camps including Camp Herrlich, Camp Tecumsah and Squash + Beyond Camps.

Kimberly & Nioby take a break between matches at the MSquash Summer Bronze. Sixteen players were able to compete in U.S. Squash tournaments this summer.

This summer would not have been possible without our partners who opened their doors to us – The Heights Casino, Jonas Bronck Academy, NYSC White Plains & StreetSquash. From all of us, a huge thanks for your generosity!

Two CitySquashers recognized with Squash + Education Alliance Awards

Alan Lopez was a recipient of the Squash + Education Alliance Tyler Griffin Student of the Year Award. Given to two graduating seniors, the award recognizes students who best embody the overarching values of SEA – sportsmanship, effort on court and in the classroom, respect and concern for others, integrity, character, and leadership. Alan is off to Colby in the fall, where he will compete on the Varsity Squash team.

Eric Garcia won Squash + Education Alliance’s Future Star Award, given annually to one 8th grade student in the SEA network who shows a strong and consistent commitment to their program and an extraordinary level of effort, respect, concern for others, integrity, character, and leadership. Eric will enter 9th grade at Leaders High School in Brooklyn in the fall.

Hats off to the Class of 2021!

Despite a year unlike any other, our Class of 2021 wrapped up their college careers successfully and graduated in both virtual and in-person ceremonies. Congratulations to our five graduates, all of whom are first-generation college graduates! 

CLASS OF 2021

Nicole Lara Granados – Mt. Holyoke College 

Genesis Lara Granados – Mt. Holyoke College 

Alexandra Limas – St. Lawrence University 

Mariela Mendoza – Bowdoin College 

Bianca Troche – St. Lawrence University 

It’s Never Quiet on the Placement Front 

As another school year comes to a close, we are thrilled to celebrate the many acceptances our college seniors and those applying to private schools received. All eight of our graduating seniors are headed to four-year colleges next year and three of them will continue their squash careers and suit up for their school’s varsity teams. Another seven students gained acceptance to private high schools, bringing CitySquash’s total of successful school placements to 105. Congratulations to all and we can’t wait tto follow you through your next chapters! 

COLLEGE PLACEMENT 

Elizabeth Barroso – Colby College 

Anthony Cruz – SUNY New Paltz

Roberto Cruz – SUNY Oswego 

Fatima Hernandez – Lehman College

Dalia Hipolito – Siena College 

Alan Lopez – Colby College 

Xitlaly Santos – Lehman College

Dainalee Velez – Bates College 

PRIVATE SCHOOL PLACEMENT

Ashanti Amastal – Loomis Chaffee School 

Jesus Fierro – Trinity-Pawling School

Randy Guzman – Berkshire School

David Paxtor – White Mountain School

Pablo Paxtor – Tabor Academy

Aaliyah Sampson – Kent School

James Vasquez – Indian Mountain School

Year-End Awards & Leadership Positions

Dainalee Velez was awarded the inaugural Casertano Cup at the Millbrook School Commencement ceremony. A special Commencement prize, the Caserano Cup is given for growth and perseverance in pursuit of the best self and the common good. 

Giselle Ciriaco was voted Student Body President at Suffield Academy for the 2021-2022 school year. A rising senior at Suffield, Giselle has served as Class President for the past two years. Giselle says she is “honored and excited to represent the Suffield student body” and wants to “focus on mental health awareness and being united.”

This year’s CitySquash Reads was based on Jonah Winters’s book “Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx”. The event was held on June 3^rd virtually, and team members from the Bronx and Brooklyn came together to discuss the book and engage in activities based off the book including jeopardy, crossword puzzles and a poem writing session.  Luke, an 8^th grade team member, said his favorite activity was “the jeopardy game because that’s when we got to go against each other to see who knows the book better” while Samantha, another 8^th grader, said “my favorite part of CitySquash reads was being able to interact with our friends in various ways!

Thank you to all who participated and helped make the event a success.

Starting this winter, as part of our Mentor Game Night series, a Baking Club for mentors and mentees was started. Mentors and mentees learned new recipes and fun facts about baking, such as the different kinds of flours and the difference between light and dark brown sugars. Team members received the ingredients they needed for each recipe so anyone could join to participate in the baking. Some of the favorite recipes we did were Ginger Bread Cookies, Oatmeal Raisins Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Our most challenging recipe was Fudge Brownies. Thank you to all of the mentors who joined us. We had a great time connecting with you and your mentees while learning to bake together!

Three CitySquash team members were recognized as College Squash Association (CSA) Scholar Athletes for the 2020-2021 season (see list below). The Scholar-Athlete Award is given to varsity juniors or seniors who have earned at least two varsity letters, achieved a high academic standing with a GPA of 3.5 or above and would have been eligible to compete this season. Congratulations to Genesis, Nicole & Luigi for this achievement and their hard work throughout the school year! 

Photo Above: (L to R) Luigi Pasquariello, Genesis Lara Granados & Nicole Lara Granados

Another seven team members gained acceptances to private schools for the 2021-2022 school year. With these acceptances, CitySquash has had 105 successful school placements to selective independent schools since our founding. We are proud of the hard work this group put into their applications, and are excited to be sending students to Church Farm School and White Mountain School for the first time. The full list of school placements is as follows:

Congratulations again to our accepted team members! We can’t wait to cheer you on as you begin this next chapter.

Photo Above: Aaliyah Sampson & James Vasquez showing off their acceptance letters! 

Alan & Dainalee show off their Early Decision acceptance letters!

Early Decision Acceptances 

December brought good news for CitySquash team members Alan Lopez (Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics ’21) and Dainalee Velez (Millbrook School ’21), who gained Early Decision college acceptances to Colby College and Bates College, respectively. We are proud of their hard work and perseverance throughout this challenging remote college process, and could not be more excited for them to both be Maine-bound! Alan will join two CitySquash teammates at Colby, and Daina will be the fourth CitySquasher to attend Bates. Both plan to play on their schools’ respective varsity squash teams in the fall. We look forward to more good news on the admissions front for the rest of our high school seniors as they await more college decisions in the coming weeks.

Team Members Return to Squash 

Middle school team members practice their technique on public handball courts after months without being able to play squash.