St. Paul's set to wage the biggest challenge yet to Gilman's squash dynasty
Crusaders return an experienced group from last year's league runner-up, while Gilman is reloading after graduating five starters
by Nelson Coffin
A quick study of last year’s MIAA squash title match between Gilman and St. Paul’s shows that, by all rights, St. Paul’s is in a good position to deny Gilman’s 16th championship run.
That’s because although the Greyhounds blanked the Crusaders, 7-0, in the final, six of St. Paul’s athletes were underclassmen and Gilman had a veteran group with five seniors, all of whom were with the program during what Gilman coach Doug DeSmit called its “best four-year stretch ever. Our players come in with a winning mindset and a legacy of past years’ success instilled in each of them.”
That will make it difficult for St. Paul’s and the other squads, such as Boys’ Latin, Loyola Blakefield, McDonogh, Calvert Hall, Friends and Park to challenge more established entities.
Citing results from last year’s championship match, St. Paul’s should be in good shape this winter, considering the Crusaders’ depth and experience.
Included in the group that fell to Gilman are senior Ashton Seeman, juniors Keenan McPhail, Tyler Hyle and Colin Faulkner-MacDonagh and sophomores Howdy Colhoun and Carter Holland.
Other team members listed on the school’s website are seniors Trevor Miller and Traveler Stansberry, sophomores Cooper Hessen and Logan Zhang and freshmen Thomas Zink and Zayd Mirza.
In what is an unusual circumstance, Gilman is building a new team after graduating those five seniors and replacing them with freshmen.
The squad will face local challenges within the MIAA, as well as tough opponents from out of state, DeSmit said.
Senior Matthew Chi, junior Jack Paternotte, and freshman Daniel Sun will lead the way, considering that Chi and Paternotte have contributed to the varsity team since 2023.
“Matthew is a relentless competitor who tirelessly runs down every shot and extends rallies,” DeSmit added. “Jack’s impressive shot-making skills often give him an advantage in matches, and Daniel has a knack for managing the court effectively, transforming defense into offense and scrambling his opponents.
Gilman’s goal — as always — is to reach the MIAA finals and successfully defend its championship.
Friends coach Eddie Van Dyke's club is young and full of promise, noting that Gabriel Sund, Leo Robinson, Cole Roach, and Rett Abernathy, all freshmen, will take the top spots in the Quakers' lineup this season.
We are “extremely happy to finally have enough involvement to field a full varsity and JV team again for the first time since COVID, thanks to a highly popular middle school program,” Van Dyke added.
Loyola Blakefield coach Joe Lacy shares coaching duties with Edward Brown for the Dons, who will roll with Lucas Hobson in the No. 1 position with senior co-captain Ben Andrews who in the the No. 2 spot.
Co-captain Patrick Schaller holds down No. 3 for a team that is 1-0 in conference play and 2-3 overall this winter.
“We don’t have any year round squash players on the team, but what we do have is a special team connection between players and coaches,” Lacy said. “The boys are working hard and looking forward to competing in the U.S Squash High School Nationals up in Philadelphia in February.”