The New Canaan High School Girls Varsity A team played in Division IV at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford.
NCHS Girls Varsity Squash team, L-R: Katie Conese, Co-Captain, Caroline Grogan, Jenny Loomis, Tara Chugh, Margaux Brennan, Liza Cuoco, Chloe Sigg. Contributed
The girls, in ladder order, are Tara Chugh, Liza Cuoco, Katie Conese, Jenny Loomis, Margaux Brennan, Chloe Sigg and Caroline Grogan. Grogan, originally an alternate, made it to the first match with seconds to spare after getting a call that she needed to replace ill teammate Charlie Gardner.
Their first match was against Nichols School from Buffalo. They lost 1-6. The win of the match went to Liza Cuoco who defeated her opponent 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5). Sigg’s match went to five games in a tough fight, with Sigg rallying back from a 0-2 deficit to win the third and fourth games. Games 3 and 5 both went into tie-breaks (8-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 10-12). Loomis lost 1-3, winning game three in a tie break 13-11.
Chugh also played a match that went to four games, but lost 1-3. Conese, Brennan, and Grogan each lost 0-3.
The girls moved onto the Consolation Round a few hours after starting their first match. Their second match against Hopkins School JV started at 9:00 pm. They rallied hard and won all matches for a 7-0 win. Loomis won 3-2 in a match that included a second game tie break. Conese won 3-1, Sigg won 3-1 with a game one tie break of 14-12. Grogan also won 3-1, with a tie-break of 13-11 starting off her match. Chugh, Cuoco, and Brennan each won their matches 3-0 with Cuoco and Brennan each starting off their games with 12-10 tie-break scores.
Their next match brought them to the Consolation Semi Finals where they played against Sacred Heart JV of Greenwich. They beat Sacred Heart 5-2 after losing to them earlier in the season. Many of the matches went to 4 or 5 games and it was an exciting win for the rams.
The girls moved on to the Consolation Finals on Sunday where they were matched against New Haven JV. After heading home Saturday night due to the impending snowstorm, all girls, parents and coaches opted to drive back up to Choate on Sunday to play this final match when many schools were cancelling. They fought hard but lost 3-4 in a close match. Chugh won handily 11-4, 11-2, 11-3. Cuoco won in four games, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9. Brennan pulled off an amazing win after rallying back from being down 0-2 in a match that included two tie-breaks (8-11, 6-11, 14-12, 14-12, 11-7). Conese lost 2-3 after a very tough battle, 11-13, 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 5-11. Sigg lost 1-3 in yet another match that included a tie-break (6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 5-11). Loomis and Grogan both lost 0-3 in close matches.
An incredible and hard fought weekend for the girls playing their best squash of the season.