Martlets Fall to DA and Sacred Heart

Today was full of positives in the face of matches against two of the strongest teams in New England. The Martlets were aware of how hard these matches were going to be but were excited to have the chance to play amazing teams. Everyone went in with goals and strategies of each game and to take the matches one point at a time. Many of the matches against Deerfield had games that were lost by only two points. Between each game everyone had things that they felt were working for them and things they knew were not. Number eight, Meiyin Ren ‘25 was the only person that went to four games during this match. At number three, Margaret Dilks ‘24 displayed what it means to be a good example as a captain and lose with her head up high and came out knowing she played the best she has in a long time. Even though the Martlets knew it would be a stretch to steal the win from Deerfield we knew we would at least fight for every point until the end and that is what happened. 

The same can be said for the match against Sacred Heart. They are known for their squash reputation but the Martlets didn’t let that get in their heads. They fought hard against Deerfield and then took it up another notch against Sacred Heart. Many matches had games lost by only two points this go around as well but this time at least three people went to four and five in games which is a huge positive against such a strong team. At number six, Chase Hager ‘26 and at number four Emily Fonner ‘26 both went to four in their match, dominating their first game. The matches both got tougher as the games went on but they never gave up trying to rely on simple calculated squash to stay in the game. At number one, Sophia Lazor ‘27 was the only person from the day to go to five against their opponent. Each game was close, most of them only losing to the other by two points. Sophia strategized to use length while her opponent played a strong short game. In the end the Sacred Heart number one stole the win by three points, both girls keeping everyone on the edge of their seats the entire match. 

The Martlets showed a lot of heart today against such strong teams and never let the other teams’ reputation intimidate them from trying their hardest each game. The Sacred Heart coach complimented the team’s grit and grace and said “it was a pleasure to watch how hard Westy fought against us”. 

Against Deerfield:                                                    Against Sacred Heart: