Celebrating at the 4th Annual Open Squash Junior Awards Night

Please note: A full gallery of images from the night by Open Squash photographer Eliza Kommer is available here for download with code “06022025” and with prints available to order for members, if you would like. You can email eliza.kommer@gmail.com  to purchase digital photos.

“What happens on the first Monday of June?” asked Coach Josh Easdon.

“Awards night!” shouted more than 60 juniors on the floor at Open Squash’s FiDi location on June 2nd at FiDi for the 4th Open Squash Awards Night!

“I love this night, I look forward to it all year,” Josh said, with the kids settled on the floor and parents seated or standing around the edges. “It’s like a moshpit, you can just jump right in there,” said Josh, gesturing to the crowd. 

The event is growing so large at this point that next year we may need to rent out Madison Square Garden!. Seriously, it was a remarkable evening and a true celebration of our junior squash season, dedicated to recognizing the hard work and dedication of our young players, thanking our coaches, parents and caregivers for their incredible support.

Josh welcomed everyone, introducing the dedicated Open Squash Staff who make our programs possible. We heard about coaches who work with the Red, Blue, and Green Teams, Mini-Green, Schools, Success Academies, Teen Greens, and Hudson Guild programs.

These include Peter Creed, Amr Khalifa, Thaisa Sarafini, Asghar Abbas, David Hughes, Ciara Richards, Juan Santos, Adel Sammons, Pedro Facury, Habiba Mohamed, Julie Lilien, Gabe Tockman, Jana Shiha, and Eric Molina. Josh also recognized Maddy Ramos, our Junior Program Administrator, and Adriana Arcangel, Office Administrator & Graphic Designer. The front desk staff, Henry Rosenberg, Heather McGowan, Taj Aiken, Sarah Williams, Julian Willmore, and Diego Santos, were also thanked for being the first faces families see at Open Squash. Finally, a special thank you went to Seth Frankle, VP of Operations.

This event is becoming a tradition, set for the first Monday of June each year.  The awards portion began with Certificates for our Mini-Squashers. At the FiDi Grace Church Mini-Green program, led by Ciara & Adel:

• Best Sportsmanship was awarded to James Martin.
• Most Improved went to Olympia Cook.
• Best Racquet Prep was received by Caroline Cohen.
• Best Drive was awarded to Ward Cohen.
• Best Forehand went to Elliot Hepner.

For the Open Squash Bryant Park Mini-Green program, led by Ciara & Asghar:

• Best Technique was awarded to Zoe Shea.
• Most Focused went to Asher Souza.
• Hardest Hitter was received by Jacob Souza.
• Best Backhand went to Weatherly Hubbard.
• Best Attitude was awarded to Aria Huang.
• Best Serve went to Nathan Huang.
• Most Determined was received by Alexandra Rodriguez.

Next, medals were presented for the Club Championships. Josh explained that this was the 4th Junior Club Championships. This year, separate draws were held for each location, Bryant Park and FiDi, with the exception of the Red Teams which competed only at FiDi. The winners and finalists will have their names engraved on the plaque on the wall. The Junior Academy is structured into three teams: Red, Blue, and Green, with Green having A and younger B draws.

Here are the Club Championship medalists:

Bryant Park Green Team B:

• Girls Green Team B Third Place: Soyra Nikam
• Girls Green Team B Finalist: Anu Pallan
• Girls Green Team B Winner: Alisha Bhagat
• Boys Green Team B Consolation Winner: Raam Patnaik
• Boys Green Team B Third Place: Noah Pasco
• Boys Green Team B Finalist: Veer Patel
• Boys Green Team B Winner: Mile Cheng

FiDi Green Team B:

• Girls Green Team B Third Place: Dilyn Chowdhary
• Girls Green Team B Finalist: Lolal Parekh
• Girls Green Team B Winner: Avni Jain
• Boys Green Team B Consolation Winner: Arthur Raphael
• Boys Green Team B Third Place: Arthur Volovik
• Boys Green Team B Finalist: Myles Shlachter
• Boys Green Team B Winner: Owen Macker

Bryant Park Green Team A:

• Girls Green Team A Consolation Winner: Rhea Parekh
• Girls Green Team A Third Place: Rachel Sommers
• Girls Green Team A Finalist: Maya Warshaw
• Girls Green Team A Winner: Olivia CaraLee
• Boys Green Team A Consolation Winner: Charlie Olken
• Boys Green Team A Third Place: Leo Gottlieb
• Boys Green Team A Finalist: Niam Soni
• Boys Green Team A Winner: Henry Fast

FiDi Green Team A:

• Girls Green Team A Consolation Winner: Vanessa Chiu
• Girls Green Team A Third Place: Alexandra Champion
• Girls Green Team A Finalist: Emery Gowen
• Girls Green Team A Winner: Aya Jamjourn
• Boys Green Team A 1st Consolation Winner: Angel Morel
• Boys Green Team A 2nd Consolation Winner: Tyler Shlachter
• Boys Green Team A Third Place: Mikel Prescott
• Boys Green Team A Finalist: Henry Delaney
• Boys Green Team A Winner: Zephyr Sears

Bryant Park Blue Team:

• Girls Blue Team Consolation Winner: Teeva Yuan
• Girls Blue Team Third Place: Miranda Zhou
• Girls Blue Team Finalist: Madeline Cheung
• Girls Blue Team Winner: Angela Lu
• Boys Blue 2nd Team Consolation Winner: Oliver Hsieh
• Boys Blue 1st Team Consolation Winner: Donovan Lu
• Boys Blue Team Third Place: Akash Easdon
• Boys Blue Team Finalist: Winston Tan
• Boys Blue Team Winner: Jayden Hood

FiDi Blue Team:

• Girls Blue Team Third Place: Norah Panas
• Girls Blue Team Finalist: Uma Boaz
• Girls Blue Team Winner: Lexie Elkind
• Boys Blue Team Consolation Winner: Arin Raichauduri
• Boys Blue Team Third Place: Lucas Miller
• Boys Blue Team Finalist: Ethan Roberts
• Boys Blue Team Winner: Nikhil Jani

Bryant Park/FiDi Red Team:

• Boys Red Team Consolation Winner: Dean Shalaby
• Boys Red Team Third Place: Finn Lukianoff
• Boys Red Team Finalist: Will Johnson
• Boys Red Team Winner: Max Kapoor
• Girls Red Team Third Place: Ines Cameo
• Girls Red Team Finalist: Ayla Rahim
• Girls Red Team Winner: Hannah Bahn

Special recognition was also given with the Open Squash SOLO Level Trophies. This award highlights players who practice on their own using SOLO Level sheets, emphasizing that improving at squash is a blend of coaching, game play, and solo practice. Players receiving the Open Squash Level One trophy included:

• Vivian Antrim
• William Antrim
• Spencer Cheng
• Avni Jain
• Donovan Fox
• Quentin Lennox
• Siya Gupta-Goel
• Myles Shlachter
• Tyler Shlachter
• Ansel Clapp
• Lyanna Gamio
• Charlie Kelly Olken
• Zephyr Sears
• Myles Cheng
• Dilyn Chowdhary
• Henry Fast
• Mikel Prescott
• Arham Jain

Players receiving the Open Squash Level Two trophy, which is notably bigger than the Level One trophy, included:

• Sebastian Park
• Akash Easdon

We also took a moment to recognize the Open Squash Mentors / Summer Camp Counselors, who received sweatshirts for their dedication.

“We’re teaching them how to teach,” Josh said.

These mentors help younger players, act as leaders, and are important role models in the Open Squash community. The recognized mentors were:

• Lexie Elkind
• Finn Lukianoff
• Theo Lodewick
• Sean Kapoor
• William Johnson
• Max Kapoor
• Winston Tan
• Clarence Zhou
• Lucas Ting
• Akash Easdon
• Jayden Hood
• Archer Gould
• Dean Shalaby

It’s worth noting that some of these names, like Akash Easdon, Jayden Hood, Max Kapoor, Finn Lukianoff, Dean Shalaby, Winston Tan, and Lexie Elkind, were also recognized with awards in other categories.

Fun awards with small trophies were also given to Green Level, some Blue Level, and younger players:

• Best Serve: Angela Lu (recognized for a lob serve that trips up tall players)
• Best Cross Court: Natalie Yoo (for her low putaway cross)
• Best Drop: Luke Ramsey (a bouncy player with a not-so-bouncy drop)
• Best Rail: Nick Singh (for hitting it straight when winding up)
• Best Volley: Olivia Cara Lee (her reach is getting better)
• Best Boast: Jayden Hood (smooth like butter and creative)
• Style Points: Benedict Wilson (plays at his own rhythm with a retro look)
• Court Rat: Sebastian Park (a player who hangs out at and jumps on court)

Additional Trophies For Special Reasons were presented:

Bryant Park:

• Green Most Improved: Rachel Sommers
• Green Best Sportsmanship: Emeleie Choi
• Green Hardest Working: Lyanna Gamio
• Green Hardest Working: Sebastian Park
• Blue Most Improved: Jayden Hood
• Blue Best Sportsmanship: Lucas Ting
• Blue Hardest Working: Hudson Lee
• Blue Performance in Tournament Play: Angela Lu

FiDi:

• Green Most Improved: Mikel Prescott
• Green Best Sportsmanship: Siena Rossi
• Green Hardest Working: Alexandra Champion
• Blue Most Improved: Arin Raichaudhuri
• Blue Best Sportsmanship: Vivian Antrim
• Blue Hardest Working: Norah Panas
• Blue Performance in Tournament Play: Lucas Miller
• Red Most Improved: Clarence Zhou
• Red Best Sportsmanship: Nicola Cameo
• Red Hardest Working: Finn Lukianoff
• Red Performance in Tournament Play: Jude Shalaby

A new program, the JCT Class at FiDi, was also highlighted, and three players were recognized for their dedication:

• Sean Kapoor
• Ayla Rahim
• Dean Shalaby

We also said Goodbye To Our Seniors who have been with Open Squash from the beginning. Archer Gould, Hannah Bahn, and Max Kapoor were honored and presented with plaques. Habiba spoke to honor Hannah and Max.

Junior summer camps begin next week, including 21 Recreational Camps, 9 Intensive Camps, and Guest Coach Camps featuring collegiate coaches from Harvard, Columbia, Brown, & UVA. There will also be Guest Professional Camps run by top players like Nouran Gohar (World #1), Victor Crouin (World #15), Gina Kennedy (World #7), and Hannah Craig (World #63).

The evening concluded with everyone heading to Court #2 for a Group Photo. Players brought their gifts and trophies. The gift was a "Squashtopus" or “Squashie” stuffed keychain. Following the photo, there was pizza and drinks in the café for everyone to enjoy.

It was wonderful to see so many members of the Open Squash Community come together. For those who didn't win an award this year, remember you are a vital part of our community, and perhaps next year will be your turn. We look forward to staying connected with all of you.