Everyone’s eyes were glued to Niki Hu ‘23 and her Loomis Chaffee opponent on the Gilbert squash court, with Lion fans cheering for Hu with every point she scored. Kent and Loomis Chaffee were neck and neck with a tight 3-3 score. The game was the deciding one, with the entire match hanging in the balance.

Even before Hu’s match, the match was already extremely intense. During the start, after Sloane Grover-Dodge ‘20 crushed her opponent 3-0, Lexy Pryor ‘21, Lia Fadiman ‘21, and Chloe Mao ‘21 all lost extremely hard-fought matches by 2-3, letting Loomis Chaffee climb ahead of Kent. Afterward, Jana Safy ‘21 and Mariya Novosad ‘22 elicited tremendous applause from Kent supporters as they each won a 3-0 match, bringing the game to a tie with only one match left.

In the deciding game, Hu gave it her all out on the court, even injuring her ankle during her second game after she lost her first. However, she soon got back on her feet. She ultimately won 3-1.

Coach Kastilahn stated that it was one of the most intensive and competitive matches the team has been through. “It was a very exciting match, going back and forth,” he commented. ‘We have a couple of girls lose some heartbreakers in a fifth match, which is always tough, but we came through and won a decisive game.” He praises Hu for withstanding the pressure of everyone watching and “putting up an impressive fourth game to seal the victory.” 

Coach Kastilahn adds that “as a Kent alumnus, it is always great to beat Loomis. They were very good last year. We already knew that they were competitive, and we were looking forward to an exciting match, and we got one.”

The team is looking forward to the Squash Nationals and the New England Tournament that are coming up as the season ends.