Wow! The Gow School squash team continued on a torrid pace at the University School tournament.

The boys fulfilled their academic obligations and departed Saturday afternoon at 12:30pm. We arrived at the courts shortly before 4:00pm. Miami Valley (MV) was Gow’s first opponent. MV was a talented team with a lot of depth in their ladder. The Gow team came out of the bus doors and onto the courts seamlessly. All of the Gow players from the 4^th spot down won their matches. (Kithsen W., Toma B., Joshua B., George L., and John E.) Team captain, Walker M., fought valiantly, but succumbed to an extremely talented Junior Championship tour player from Miami Valley. Robert T-H and John E. did their very best in the #2 and #3 spots, but each narrowly lost their matches in three games.

Immediately following the MV match Gow faced the perennially talented Division II host, University School (US). A fatigued and emotionally spent Gow team battled valiantly but couldn’t solve the US machine. Once again Gow closed the gap between the annual Ohio state High School squash champion teams by an inch. We took games from them in the #4 (Kithsen W.) and #8 (John E.) spots. It was a great job by the entire team. Truly a battle of attrition and the boys were the victors!

After a good night’s sleep and a full breakfast the team headed back to the courts to begin the second day of matches. Two matches versus University School’s Varsity B and C teams. Certainly no pushovers! Gow had heard a lot about how good these two teams were. They were just that. They were very deep and very talented. US decided to bring some of their Varsity A players back and pitted them against some of Gow’s best.

What a Sunday of squash! The spectators were certainly not let down. From the amazing 10+ shot rallies from Robert T-H. and his opponents, to the strength of Kithsen’s forehand drives. The 9-2 final tally didn’t do the level of competitiveness justice. Every player stepped out the court absolutely drained. We couldn’t find enough towels to dry the sweat off Toma after his first match of the day!

The second series of matches pitted Gow against the US Varsity B team which featured two players from their Varsity A team. This was something to behold. After each player played their heart out versus the US Varsity C team they found themselves catching their breath while going through introductions for the 11:30am match against the US varsity B team. The bleachers were filled and a palpable anticipation filled the air. The teams spilt the first four matches. Once again, the final 9-2 score doesn’t do these matches justice. It wasn’t until Gow’s #4 player Kithsen W., won his match that Gow clinched the victory. This meant that Gow’s #1 player Walker M. hit the court not knowing whether or not the team had secured the win. What an absolutely amazing display of resiliency and effort. Walker took to the court to take on the best that the opposition had to offer. That’s what a Gow captain in the #1 spot does. So, where do I start? Walker played his fourth match in less than 16 hours. He battled to the bitter end in each every one. He lost the first two games versus US Varsity A player Robbie T. Walker walks off court A and said, “I’m going to take this in five.” He won the next two games 11-4. The fifth and final match began with all eyes on the court A. Teammates, parents, and coaches yelled words of encouragement to the war torn players inside the enemy line. The fifth game saw Walker jump out to a 6-0 lead. Robbie worked his way back to 6-5. It went to 8-8. Walker won the next two points and pushed it to match point. Without hesitation he secured the victory with a perfectly placed forehand drive. The amount of energy that flooded out of that court when the door opened was unbelievable. An incredible amount of sportsmanship and resiliency by both players was witnessed early Sunday morning.

Congratulations to the Gow School squash team on a 3-1 record at the US tournament and a 5-1 overall start to the season. 

Results:

The Gow School 5 vs. Miami Valley 3

1. Galen H. def. Walker M. (11-1, 11-3, 11-5) Miami Valley win
2. Ian S. def. Robert T-H. (11-2, 11-9, 11-3) Miami Valley win
3. Corri J. def. John E. (11-8, 11-9, 11-6) Miami Valley win
4. Kithsen W. def. Sarah J. (11-9, 11-4, 11-5) Gow School win
5. Toma B. def. Nathaniel C. (11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 13-15, 11-3) Gow School win
6. Josh B. def. Zack N. (11-9, 11-4, 11-6) Gow School win
7. George L. def. Jackson L. (14-12, 11-8, 11-5) Gow School win
8. John E. def. Grady T. (11-5, 11-9, 11-5) Gow School win

University School 10 vs. The Gow School 0

1. Wick B. def. Walker M. (11-4, 11-2, 11-4) University School win
2. Alex S. def. Robert T-H. (11-3, 11-3, 11-3) University School win
3. Jarvie S. def. John E. (11-2, 11-7, 11-3) University School win
4. Matt S. def. Kithsen W. (11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4) University School win
5. Sam W. def. Toma B. (11-6, 11-3, 11-3) University School win
6. Graham T. def. Joshua B. (11-3, 11-2, 11-1) University School win
7. Robbie R. def. George L. (11-6, 11-2, 11-7) University School win
8. Justin E. def. John E. (1-11, 11-3, 15-13, 11-1) University School win
9. Jomes H. def. Oudou K. (11-9, 11-4, 11-5) University School win
10. Trent D. def. Ibrahim K. (11-4, 11-3, 11-0) University School win

The Gow School 9 vs. University School C 2

1. Graham O. def. Walker M. (6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3) University School win
2. Robert T-H. def. Justin E. (9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4) Gow School win
3. John E. def. John H. (11-2, 11-1, 11-8) Gow School win
4. Kithsen W. def. Kal T. (11-6, 11-2, 11-5) Gow School win
5. Toma B. def. John P. (11-4, 2-11, 11-9, 11-9) Gow School win
6. Joshua B. def. Brad S. (7-11, 11-4, 14-12, 11-3) Gow School win
7. George L. def. Mathew B. (13-11, 11-2, 11-5) Gow School win
8. John E. def. Owen P. (12-10, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8) Gow School win
9. Oudou K. def. Trent K. (7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5) Gow School win
10. Nathan K. def. Ibrahim K. (11-6, 11-6, 12-14, 8-11, 11-7) University School win
11. Oudou K. def. Austin A. (11-2, 11-3, 11-1) Gow School win

The Gow School 9 vs. University School B 2

1. Walker M. def. Robbie T. (8-11, 4-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8) Gow School win
2. Robert T-H. def. James H. (11-5, 11-3, 11-4) Gow School win
3. John E. def. Mike H. (11-7, 11-5, 11-1) Gow School win
4. Kithsen W. def. Will M. (11-8, 11-5, 11-5) Gow School win
5. Toma B. def. Rob Y. (11-4, 11-8, 11-3) Gow School win
6. Phil V. def. Joshua B. (7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9) University School win
7. George L. def. Jack M. (11-6, 11-4, 11-4) Gow School win
8. Brad S. def. John E. (8-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7) University School win
9. Oudou K. def. Jacob C. (11-4, 11-0, 11-3) Gow School win
10. Ibrahim K. def. (unknown) (11-9, 11-7, 11-5) Gow School win
11. Ibrahim K. def. Adam G. (11-4, 11-5, 11-4) Gow School win