On Wednesday, December 13th, the Varsity Boys’ Squash Team competed against the Charterhouse School from Surrey, England in the newly built squash courts in the Novogratz Center for Athletics.

According to Boys’ Varsity Squash Coach, Ben Oliner, the game consisted of “high tea, light fare, and lots of squash cheering.” The atmosphere was lively and both students and parents came out to support the Poly team, as well as parents of the Charterhouse boys.

Charterhouse’s squash team traveled to Poly four years ago and enjoyed playing Poly so much that they returned. At this previous match, Oliner said, “We had a positive experience four years ago, so they came back. We had a great game, and at the time, their number one and our number one knew each other from the international circuit; they had this awesome game and I think that’s why they came back.”

The afternoon was filled with friendly and energetic competition. Snacks such as tea and crumpets were served. Seniors and co-captains Jeffrey Gorilovsky and Andrew Leung had particularly thrilling matches and played key roles in leading the team to victory. Off the court, boys from both teams were seen exchanging conversations, replenishing with snacks, and overseeing the matches that were taking place.

“It was a great experience playing this overseas team. I think they are great competitors and they’re funny because they have different customs and catchphrases than we do,” Gorilovsky said. “I think they put up a good fight, but, overall, our team took a good win today.”

Poly’s Boys’ Varsity Squash Team has had a strong season and is looking forward to what the rest of the winter will bring.  When asked to give a recap of their season so far, Oliner said, “This is our sixth game. We had a big tournament at the beginning of the season, the Poly Invitational, where we had 15 teams here, 150 kids, and we played three matches and had great competition. We came in third and played teams from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut”.

When asked about their return to Poly and their time in New York, Richard Haynes, manager of the Charterhouse squash team, said, “We’ve come to New York for a squash tour and we came here because Ben [Oliner] is probably the most enthusiastic coach I’ve ever met.”

Even though Poly may have captured the win this time, the team’s relationship with the Charterhouse remains amicable and the squash team looks forward to the possibility of playing them again in the future. Congratulations to the boys on their royal victory!