It was another exhilarating weekend at the Urban Individual National Championships at Amherst and Williams colleges. CitySquash had 68 team members compete across 10 divisions — among 450+ players from 17 national and international  Squash + Education Alliance programs — and came away with three overall titles! Our team also secured two 2nd place, one 3rd place, and two 4th place finishes. CitySquash has now won a record 107 Urban National Titles in its 17-year history!

Congratulations to Ashley Amaro (GU11), Lizbeth Barroso (GU15), and Caleb Boateng (BU17) for bringing home division titles. A special thanks goes out to all of our students and dedicated staff for their hard work, along with the Squash + Education Alliance for putting together another great event!

From red rocks to coastal lighthouses, wilderness camping to college visits, our annual Spring Tours were a smashing success. For the eighth year in a row, our team members and hardworking staff explored regions beyond the boroughs on 6 unique enrichment trips, visiting a combined 10 different states. For many team members, it was the first time out of the state or on an airplane. Highlighted by museum and cultural site visits, new food and adventures, and yes, even a little squash, the 2019 edition created memories and camaraderie that will last a lifetime.

The months of January and February were busy for CitySquash coaches and players, capped off by trips to Middle School and High School Team Nationals. At Middle School Nationals, both the boys and girls A teams earned 7^th place in their divisions while representing M.S. 45. Highlights included Alexis storming back from an 0-2 deficit in his final match to win and Edward playing what coaches called the “best squash of his life.”

At High School Nationals one week later, the girls placed 7^th in their division including a nail-biting win over the Hill School. Perla and Jazlyn collected a few 5-game match wins to lead the way. The boys team had a tougher go on the court, but demonstrated grit and tenacity all weekend. Many thanks to our tireless coaches and generous hosts for helping make the trip possible. Up next on the squash calendar: the 2019 Urban Team National Championships at Yale and Choate. 

6 CitySquash seniors applied early decision to college and in December, all 6 found out they were admitted! Congratulations to our Class of 2023 Early Acceptances:

Chris Lucero – Hamilton College

Vanessa Lucero – Franklin & Marshall College

Victoria Haghighi – Bates College

Tanya Mendoza – Connecticut College

Juan Santos – Middlebury College

Xitlali Zuniga – St. Lawrence University 

CitySquash alumnus and Director of Squash Chris Fernandez has been named the new Men’s and Women’s Head Squash Coach of Dickinson College. Fernandez becomes the first urban squash alumnus to lead a varsity college program. “I am truly grateful for such an opportunity and look forward to making urban squash, Dickinson and everyone who’s supported me proud,” Fernandez said. Both of Dickinson’s teams finished in the top-20 in the country last year.

Fernandez first stepped onto the squash court in 2004 as part of the second cohort ever to try out for CitySquash. Chris went on to win a scholarship to the Canterbury School in Connecticut and then moved on to St. Lawrence University, where as a senior, he captained the men’s squash team that was a National Championship finalist. For the past three years, he has served as CitySquash’s Director of Squash in the Bronx.

Squash + Education Alliance Executive Director Tim Wyant, who was leading CitySquash when Fernandez first joined, is one of many proud mentors excited by the news: “Chris will do an outstanding job at Dickinson. Since the time he joined CitySquash in sixth grade, he has been a trailblazer, pushing the boundaries of what people in our network thought possible: winning one national title after another, being a two-sport college athlete, captaining a team that reached the finals of the college nationals. He has a generous spirit, is ferociously competitive, and is a person of integrity.”

Read more about the announcement here. Please join us in thanking Chris for his dedicated coaching and best of luck at the collegiate level!

Last weekend, CitySquash 8th grade student Caleb Boateng made history. Competing at the U.S. Middle School Team Squash Championships at Yale University, his Brunswick School team was crowned National Champions! Playing #4 on the Brunswick team, Caleb was undefeated in the tournament and became the first student from any urban squash program to be in the lineup of a U.S. National Championship-winning team.

Caleb’s achievement is the product of hard work and determination many years in the making. The son of Ghanaian immigrants, Caleb joined CitySquash in 2011 as a third grader at P.S. 205 in the Bronx, and quickly distinguished himself with his positivity, energy, incredible work ethic, and love of squash.

Now in his third year at Brunswick, Caleb is excelling in and out of the classroom, remarkable given his daily commute. He wakes up each morning at 5AM, walks to the Fordham Metro-North train station, takes the train and then bus to Brunswick’s Middle School Campus in Greenwich–a trip that takes over an hour-and-a-half each way. Despite all this, Caleb remains as engaged as ever with CitySquash, making after-school practices back in the Bronx, helping his younger teammates, and traveling to weekend tournaments.

Caleb is quick to give credit to the accomplishments of teammates who came before him: “Alumni like Katiria Sanchez, Andrew Cadienhead, and [current CitySquash Squash Director] Chris Fernandez show that CitySquash prepares you to play at the highest level,” he said. As for his future goals, Caleb hopes to play for Brunswick’s high school varsity team one day, attend Yale University, and become one of the top players in the country. “I’d also like to go into business but be able to play doubles matches at night. That would be great.”

CitySquash is thrilled to congratulate Caleb, his family, and the Brunswick team! 

Mentor Gray Huffard with Caleb on his first day at Brunswick in 2015.