The Rye boys squash team claimed their first FairWest Cup on Feb. 27 in commanding fashion, sweeping StreetSquash 7-0 for the league title.
Five of Rye’s seven players won their matches 3-0 at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, Conn. Sophomore Charlie Rodilosso (No. 1), senior Andrew Chun (No. 2), freshman Rocco DeFife (No. 4), junior Harry Ellis (No. 5), and junior Philip Nemeth (No. 6) all swept their opponents. Eighth-grader Nate Kim-Reuter (No. 3) and junior Michael Talbott (No. 7) both won 3-1.
The week before, the Garnets were among 121 teams across the country to compete in the U.S. high school national championships, Feb. 21-23 in Philadelphia. They were placed in Division 3 (out of seven total divisions), which was a more competitive bracket than years’ past due to their strong performance during the regular season.
The team lost all four of its matches at nationals, with three of the four coming down to a single point. Rye lost to Conestoga (Penn.) 5-2 and Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) 4-3 on Feb. 21 before two more narrow, 4-3 losses against Bronxville (N.Y.) and The Hill School (Penn.) on Feb. 22.
Rodilosso and Chun won all four of their matches over the weekend, and Talbott went 2-0, coming back from deficits of one or two games to win both matches. Chun, who is graduating this spring, finished his nationals career with a 14-2 record.
