Masterman’s Squash Team: Squashing the Competition

From a season that began coachless and with few members, Masterman’s Squash team made it all the way to nationals, with the girls’ team clinching the Philadelphia Public League (PPL) Championship along the way. The team, which is only in its second season, began two weeks after they normally would because they could not find a coach. Last year, the team was coached by Ms. Tooke, but after her departure, the team was without a leader. There was an attempt to bring in parent volunteers, but this effort ultimately hit a roadblock. Eventually, Ms. Laura Tomlinson, a sign language interpreter at Masterman, agreed to coach the team. While Ms. Tomlinson had no prior experience with squash, she could still step in to support the players: “What’s nice is that the Arlen Specter Center runs a program that provides coaches there. If you’ve been an athlete or you’ve coached any sport, there are some common ideas like stamina and conditioning, and I’ve been able to help kids in those areas.” Masterman and other schools in the district have an agreement with the Arlen Specter Squash Center in University City that allows the Masterman squash program to exist in the first place. 

The Arlen Specter Center, named after former Senator Arlen Specter, is a state-of-the-art facility and home to US Squash, the national governing body of squash and our national team. The US Open is also played annually at the Specter Center. The Center has partnered with the school district and other organizations to provide free training and equipment to students from across the city. The Masterman team both practices and plays at the center and receives from them all of the necessary equipment. Many private schools have courts within their school building, which is not a privilege accessible at Masterman. Another valuable resource that the Arlen Specter Center provides is coaching staff who work with students to teach them the game and improve their skills. 

With these invaluable resources, the Masterman Boys team had a record of 3-1 in the regular season and made it to both the PPL Championships and the national competition for their division. Additionally, Nicolas Dorazio ‘24 and Drake Wu ‘25 placed first in their respective individual divisions. As for the girls, they were undefeated in the regular season and won the PPL Championship. Jaida Brown ‘27 won her individual division, and Chenyen Liaw ‘24 and Rena Liu ‘25 were runners up in their divisions. “I am super proud of everyone. Some kids came in that knew how to play, and other kids had never picked up a racket, and they worked so hard and ended up playing in matches, which was really great to see,” says Ms. Tomlinson. 

The PPL Championship was particularly special because it was also an opportunity to celebrate the seven seniors on the team. “My biggest highlight of the season was definitely Senior Day. We celebrated seven seniors, all of whom I’ve gotten to know so much better through squash. I loved seeing the reactions to their posters and gifts, and it felt like a satisfying end to the season.” says Kaddy Ren. “It was a great opportunity to appreciate them” adds Rena Liu. While the seniors are an integral part of the team, the team captains are four juniors, Kaddy Ren, Rena Liu, Owen Erdman, and Luc Bastien, who are very excited about what the next season will bring. “This year was the first time that the Girls team played at Nationals, so we didn’t really know what to expect. After competing last weekend, I’m hopeful that we can have an even more successful run next year” says Ren. “I think it’s going to be fun for most of us to be seniors, pretty much the whole starting roster,” adds Bastien. Other goals for the next season include increasing the size of the program to new members and possibly expanding the program to the middle school. “If we start a middle school program, we can build it up into high school. That is how most schools run their programs,” says Erdman. However, like any Masterman operation, this new endeavor will face its own challenges, the biggest one being that Masterman will once again be without a coach. However, the team is confident that with the support of the Specter Center, they will be able to succeed in subsequent years. Erdman concluded with a shout out to the Specter Center because “it is such an amazing opportunity. It is the nicest squash facility in the whole country and it is totally free for us. It’s just incredible.”