December 4, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

CHA squash boasts a veteran varsity
by TOM UTESCHER

Steve Wetherill and Chip Culp, the top two squash players for  Chestnut Hill Academy last season, have moved on to the college ranks, and this year’s lineup lists no seniors at all. Still, the Blue Devils return a lot of younger players who now have several years of varsity experience, and while the team may lack a lights-out No. 1 such as Episcopal Academy senior Todd Harrity (the top junior-level player in the nation), the Devils’ depth should allow them to stay with most opponents this winter.

Opening up at home last Tuesday against a combo squad of players from Lower Merion and Harriton high schools, CHA officially recorded a 6-1 victory, and won three exhibition bouts as well.

Because the Lower Merion/Harriton amalgam was not expected to yield stiff competition for the Blue Devils, several varsity regulars did not participate in the action. Junior Dylan Tracy and freshman Nick Schreiber were occupied with a challenge match for the No. 4 position on the team ladder. (Schreiber won.) Also missing from the CHA lineup were eighth-grader Alex McCall, currently No. 7 in the mix, and junior Sam Brenman, the No. 9 player.

This season each team will officially field nine players in Inter-Ac League matches, while all other contests will feature the customary seven-man format.

Lower Merion/Harriton features a strong No. 1 player in senior Danny Greenberg, but the Ace Rams could not match the Blue Devils down the line. Greenberg claimed a 9-1, 9-0, 9-5 victory over CHA junior Dylan Ward, but CHA’s No. 2, sophomore Jack Maine, gave up just a single point as he dispatched the visitors’ Mark Potter. In the third spot, junior Zach Schweitzer was a 9-0, 9-3, 9-1 winner over Torey Broderson of Lower Merion/Harriton.

The other Blue Devils were bumped up a few places in the playing order, but they all won in straight games anyway. Sophomores Nick DiDonato and Anderson Good performed at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively, the former beating Bert van den Hooff of the Ace Rams, 9-4, 9-2, 9-7, while Good mastered Matt Cooper, 9-3, 9-0, 9-5. Junior John Canning prevailed in the sixth position, picking up steam as he overcame Ethan Maritz, 9-7, 9-1, 9-0.

Chestnut Hill played freshmen the rest of the way down the line, starting with No. 7 Greg Baird, who pitched three shutout games to the visitors’ Matt Masalanca. Zandy Schreiber (Nick’s twin brother) went past Max Pavel, 9-5, 9-7, 9-1 at No. 8, and CHA No. 9 Luke Schweitzer (Zach’s younger sibling) beat Michael Blumenthal of the Ace Rams, 9-0, 9-2, 9-5. In the tenth match, Alex Ambrosini of the Blue Devils jolted Jonah van Bemelen of Lower Merion/Harriton, 9-1, 9-0, 9-2.