Home from boarding school for their fall weekend, Steph (Canterbury School ’26), James (Hotchkiss ’28), and Geraldo (Hotchkiss ’28) toured the future Julian H. Robertson Jr. CitySquash Center, which remains on track to open this spring. We can’t wait to have these three and the rest of the CitySquash team play on their own courts soon. Pictured above right is the foundation for what will be the viewing gallery above four of the six squash courts.
This December, Billy and Luigi played their last match together for Connecticut College before graduating early. Unfortunately, this meant that they would not be able to compete in the College Squash Association’s National Championships. However, that did not stop the CSA from recognizing the pair’s academic success and naming them as 2021-2022 Scholar Athletes! Billy and Luigi are both looking forward to starting their careers this year at UBS and Good Morning America respectively. Hats off to all of their hard work and success.
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.”
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!
| Genesis Lara Granados |
Mount Holyoke College ’21
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Nicole Lara Granados
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Mount Holyoke College ‘21
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Luigi Pasquariello
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Connecticut College ’21
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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:
| Randy Guzman | Berkshire School |
| Pablo Paxtor | Church Farm School |
| James Vasquez | Indian Mountain School |
| Aaliyah Sampson | Kent School |
| Ashanti Amastal | Loomis Chaffee School |
| Jesus Fierro | Trinity-Pawling School |
| David Paxtor | White Mountain School |
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!
From October 5th-10th, we held our annual Black & Orange competition virtually. Usually a one-day event held at Fordham University, this year’s Black & Orange mixed virtual academic and athletic activities and challenges for team members and their families to complete on a daily basis, and culminated with World Squash Day! Team members participated in the Facemask Challenge, Words Unscramble Challenge, Juggling, and Volleyball, among other activities. In celebration of World Squash Day, our closing challenges were “Hit Us with Your Best Trick Shot” & “Squashing It on World Squash Day,” where team members showed off their squash skills from home! At the end of the week, Team Black came out on top and took the win with 1160 points! Congratulations to Team Black and thank you to everyone who participated and made the most of this year’s virtual format! To see more photos and videos from the week, check out our Instagram page (@CitySquash).
Elementary school team member Jhonny masked up with his stuffed animals at home to complete the Facemask Challenge!
The weekend of March 6th-8th, 70 CitySquash team members traveled to New Haven to compete in the SEA Team Nationals, held at Yale University and Choate Rosemary Hall. Organized annually by the Squash + Education Alliance, the tournament brings together programs from across the country. After an exciting weekend of match play, the CitySquash team advanced to the 4 out of the 5 championship finals, and ultimately took home 3 championship titles.
Congratulations to our Elementary School Team, our Middle School Boys Team and our High School Boys Team for bringing CitySquash’s tally of SEA National Titles to 110. We are also proud of 8th grade team member, Jasmine Rodriguez, who won the Middle School Academic Contest for her essay on how squash has impacted her life.
Below are some highlights from the weekend. Thank you to our hosts and everyone for making memories like these possible for our team members!
If you would like to see more photos from CitySquash from SEA Team Nationals, please Click Here.
Pictured above: The High School Boys Team (L to R) of Yoskart, Alan, Alex, Jesse, and Caleb was all smiles after defeating StreetSquash 4-1 in the Championship Final!
CitySquash’s Elementary School Team took home top honors for the second consecutive year.
CitySquash’s boarding school students traveled home to compete in the tournament for the first time! Brianna (Rectory School ’20) and Angelina (Loomis Chaffee ’23) caught up with Bronx teammate Dalia between matches.
The winning Middle School Boys Team was coached throughout the weekend by CitySquash alum Will Pante, who will graduate from Fordham University later this spring.
Middle School team member Jasmine with her Academic Contest trophy!
The Middle School Girls’ Finalist Team (L to R) of Ashley, Diana, Ariana, Chasity and Stephany fought hard throughout the weekend!
Our team members had a busy month of squash in February, training for and competing in Middle School Team Nationals in New Haven, CT and High School Team Nationals in Hartford, CT. Ten players traveled to New Haven to represent CitySquash and partner school, MS 45 at Middle School Teams. Our Middle School Boys Team finished 2nd in Division III and our Middle School Girls Team finished 4th in Division II. Both results were some of our best in recent years at Middle School Teams and we are proud to have had four players who went undefeated throughout the tournament weekend.
A total of 31 CitySquash team members competed in High School Nationals just a few weekends later. Fifteen of CitySquash’s boarding school students were in attendance playing for their schools’ varsity teams, and CitySquash had a boys and girls team representing our local partner high school in the Bronx, Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics. Congratulations to Millbrook junior Dainalee who helped her team capture the Division V Title and Mercersburg senior, Alex, and Loomis Chaffee freshman, Angelina, who helped their respective teams finish 2nd in Division V.
Congratulations to all of our team members for their effort and sportsmanship throughout these tournaments weekend, and thanks to all who helped make the weekends possible, including our generous tournament hosts!
On Sunday, October 27th we held our 9th Annual Black & Orange Day at Fordham University, our home base in the Bronx. Over 150 team members, parents, and mentors came together to compete in this indoor field day featuring squash, basketball, capture the flag and a memory challenge. The Black & Orange teams went head-to-head in the final competitions of a relay race and dance contest, with the Orange team coming out on top! Below are some photos and team members’ quotes about why they love this annual event. Thanks to everyone who came and helped make it a memorable day for the CitySquash team!
“I liked the diversity of the teams. Black & Orange helps me get to know my teammates in other grades better.” Biby, 10th Grade
“The relay race was my favorite part because it got us pumped to get points to win the competition. I also loved being able to celebrate the Orange team’s win with family.” Chasity, 7th Grade
“I enjoy Black & Orange because I get to see so many of my teammates with their family members and see everyone have a great time!” Kevin, 12th Grade
Past Years
