The world’s largest squash tournament with more than 1,300 players—the 2018 HEAD U.S. High School Team Squash Championships—returns to Philadelphia this weekend, February 2-4.
Seven venues in the greater Philadelphia area—Philadelphia Cricket Club, Episcopal Academy, Berwyn Squash & Fitness, Germantown Cricket Club, William Penn Charter, SCH Willow Grove and SCH Cherokee—will play host to the 186 teams from around the nation.
The seven-player teams are competing across twelve, sixteen-team draws—Boys’ Divisions 1-7 and Girls’ Divisions 1-5.
Connecticut brother and sister schools—Brunswick and Greenwich Academy—return to Philadelphia Cricket Club for the first time since 2016 when the programs brought both the Justi (Boys’ Division 1) and Patterson (Girls’ Division 1) Cups back to Greenwich. Both programs enter the 2018 tournament as the title favorites, leading the Justi Cup and Patterson Cup draws as the top seeds.
Last year, Philadelphia’s Haverford School won the program’s first Justi Cup with a 5-2 victory over Brunswick in Hartford, Connecticut. The Fords are seeded to reach their third consecutive Justi Cup final as the two seeds. 2014 Justi Cup champions Avon Old Farms are predicted to meet Haverford in the semifinals as the three seeds, and four-time Justi Cup champions Episcopal Academy will aim to upset Brunswick in the semifinals as the four seeds on home turf.
Greenwich Academy are seeded to augment their incredible Patterson Cup winning record with an eleventh title since the program’s first in 2005. Only two other programs have ever won the Patterson Cup—the Baldwin School in 2015 and Episcopal Academy in 2007. Greenwich Academy has faced Baldwin in the past three Patterson Cup finals, but this year are predicted to face Philadelphia’s Agnes Irwin School, who are seeded second for the first time in program history. Agnes Irwin are seeded to face three seeds Baldwin in the semifinals, while Episcopal Academy are predicted to meet Greenwich Academy in the semis as four seeds.
Match play begins Friday, February 2, at 8am ET. Follow live scores all weekend on www.clublocker.com. View all draws on the HEAD U.S. High School Team Squash Championships tournament page.
