In any sport, losing senior members can be devastating. But what’s the opposite of losing talented seniors? Well, it’s simply gaining gifted freshman. Any team can boast that they have one or two decent freshman, but not many can boast they have four or five extraordinary newcomers, like the Aces squash team. The highly skilled freshmen include twins Alan and Cory Litman, and Ben Eisenberg, who are all ranked in the top 100 in the country in the under 15 division. JV member Tyler Troped, ranked 145th in the US last year in the under 15s, is another impressive young player. With the amount of young talent the team possesses, one would think that they are set for a long time. However, within the next two years the team will lose 40 percent of their players in seniors Matt Cooper, Joey Gingold, Will Tobias, and junior Josh Marks, who occupy the top four seeds this year. Normally such a loss is difficult to overcome. With the help of this year’s freshmen, though, it might not be as challenging. “It’s the underclassmen’s responsibility to keep the team together,” said Cory Litman. With this understanding, it seems as though the freshmen certainly intend on doing so.

Squash, unlike most LM sports teams, does not compete in PIAA. Instead they participate in MASA (Mid-Atlantic Squash Association). The league mainly consists of private schools, including the Hill School, Chestnut Hill Academy, Lawrenceville, Shipley, Episcopal Academy and several others. The league also includes Conestoga, a general LM sports rival. When asked who would give the Aces trouble this year, Gingold replied, “Stoga always brings their ‘A’ game against us, and we have developed a rivalry with Germantown Friends.”

Almost as important as league matches are tournaments. Many players live for these tournaments, as their sights are set high as High School Nationals approaches at Yale University in January. When asked how this year’s Nationals will differ from the ones that he has participated in years past, Alan Litman answered, “It will be a lot bigger with a lot more teams. Last year the only venue was Yale, but this year they are using more colleges.” A bigger national tournament is more appealing for obvious reasons. There are more people, which mean more opportunities to prove yourself against quality opponents.

The squash team is a combination of Harriton and LM students. Despite this, LM players make up 70 percent of the varsity team. “One in, all in,” is the Aces motto. It states that even though squash is not a team sport, it can be played as a team. “We share responsibility for each other’s play and effort. This year’s squash team is the most talented I’ve been a part of, and if we can keep the same incredible chemistry we had last year during workouts and matches, we should have great results in the league and at Nationals,” said Tobias. Tobias’s understanding of what it means to be part of a team shows a great example for all of his younger teammates. Hopefully this is a lesson that the freshmen will learn quickly.