Congratulations to Akaisha Bhatia, Makeda Moshi, Trinity Moshi, and Yash Shivani for their selection to Team USA. Only the nation’s top juniors are invited to the team. The British Junior Open (BJO), held the first week in January, is considered the world’s most challenging junior tournament with age divisions. It is a de facto world championship with age divisions. All four NCS juniors finished ahead of their seeding in the 2026 contest. Akaisha Bhatia upset a 9/16 Malaysian player in the GU17 round of 32. After dropping two of the first three games, she took game four 13-11, then closed out the match 11-4. She eventually finished 14th. Akaisha also won the Berman and Masouds Orthodontics St James Satellite Event, a professional event, beating Molly Chadwick, a recently graduated All-Ivy player, in the final. At the Bee Squash Expression Open 2026 at The St. James in February, 16-year-old Akaisha Bhatia enjoyed a breakthrough week, … Continue Reading ››

For the first time, Landon School competed at the US Squash High School Championships in February. After shaking off some early jitters in a first-round 5-2 win, the team cruised to the Boys Division VI final, taking the quarters and semis by 6-1 and 7-0 scores. The final was a nail-biter against the #1 seed, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy from Philadelphia, a perennial squash power. But the team emerged with a 4-3 victory and the trophy, made possible in part by Matthew Gillespie, who played #6 on the ladder. After dropping two of the first three games (9), 9, (8), Matthew came back to win with consecutive 11-9 scores. Congratulations to team coaches James Masland and WT Miller as well as the team members: Zachary Fekrat; Andrew Amorosi; Jay Kapoor; Attison Hetherington; Jack Mearns; Teddy Fucci; Scott Hooper; and Chenze Li. The High School Nationals is the world’s largest squash tournament with more … Continue Reading ››

Christian Keng reached the semis in BU19, a personal best, at the Mid Atlantic JCT, open to the nation's top 32 players, in November. Raoul Engman won the BU13 title in a dramatic comeback at the 2026 Southeast Regional Junior Gold, which was hosted by Bee Squash at The St. James and Episcopal High School. After falling behind 2-1, he forced a fifth game, which he won 11-9 to secure his first-ever Gold title. Avijit Kandpal took third place in BU11 at the event, where he pushed the #1 seed to a tight four-game semis match, a remarkable achievement for a player who played his first tournament less than a year ago. He won his first two Silver titles at the Play Squash Academy October and December tournaments. Aadya Nair reached the GU11 semis, setting a personal-best Gold finish. Akaisha Bhatia dominated the GU19 field to take the title, while Willa Haberl took third. Marcus Pilling won his first-ever … Continue Reading ››

NCS boys and girls hybrid teams cruised to a pair of titles in Baltimore the first weekend in February. The team championships are open to juniors who attend a school without a squash team. They may form a hybrid team and compete at this national championship as a developmental pathway for scholastic squash at their schools. Congratulations to the two teams: Boys: Arinze Haffer, Dartagnan Rastogi, Lucas Clements, Ibrahim Masoud, Yash Shivani, John Bitar, Aarav Sethi Girls: Icy Cao, Ekta Sethi, Mariam Masoud, Gabby Bitar, Radha Vadlamani, Willa Haberl, Audrey Park

Akaisha Bhatia was one of just three GU17 Americans selected to represent Team USA at the Egyptian Junior Open this summer, considered one of the four toughest junior tournaments in the world. Bhatia finished seventh in GU17 after pushing an Egyptian seeded 3/4 to five games. US Squash also named Bhatia as an All-American due to her stellar national ranking in GU17. Elise Kang, who competes for the Hotchkiss School in the NEISA High School League, was also named one of three All-Americans from that league. BU15 Kian Patnaik played #5 for Team USA in its annual “Battle of the Border” against Canada, which the U.S. won 15-9. BU13 Yash Shivani, who just moved to our area, played #2. It was the first time Patnaik and Shivani were invited to represent Team USA. According to US Squash, the event gives “players from the U13, U15 and U17 age categories the opportunity to represent Team … Continue Reading ››

Trinity Moshi finished 9th in GU19 at the Super JCT, held in conjunction with the US National Championships. Christian Keng took 11-12 in BU19, and Zach Ingber took 14th place in the 64-draw divisions. Trinity Moshi dropped just one game on the way to taking the GU19 title at the Virginia Summer Junior Gold. BU13s Ali Mansi-Schmitt and Aleksei Pilling took first and third place, respectively. Both came back from 2-1 deficits to win game four by identical 12-10 margins before taking game five. Willa Haberl took sixth place in GU17. Luke Kim won the BU13 draw, dropping just one game to a Canadian player, at the Squash On Fire Summer Junior Silver. Dartagnan Rastogi reached the BU17 final, losing a tight match to a player from Houston. Rastogi won the BU17s at the Play Squash Academy Summer Junior Silver, and Kavish Narang took third. Narang also finished third at The St. … Continue Reading ››

Congratulations to the local juniors who were honored with the US Squash 2024-2025 Scholar Athlete Award: Alaan Javed, First Year Caroline Burg, Junior Connor Bodi, First Year Daniel Antonioli, Sophomore Ellis Chung, Senior John Bitar, Sophomore Kavish Narang, Sophomore Mariam Masoud, Sophomore Oskar Brown, First Year Sohan Kilaru, Sophomore Uma Patnaik, Senior Willa Haberl, Sophomore Zach Ingber, First Year

The U.S. Junior Squash Championships is the top USA Junior tournament, and it’s open only to the leading 32 US citizens in each age group. Merely being selected for this tournament is one of the highest honors possible for a junior squash player. Congratulations to all the NCS juniors who gained entry to this prestigious event! BU19 Sami Garside, who improved 45 ranking spots during the season, also earned the William T. Ketcham Jr. Most Improved Award in his age group for showing extraordinary commitment to the sport while significantly improving their game. Trinity Moshi notched the top finish among NCS juniors by taking third place in GU15, a personal best finish. Christian Keng also scored a personal best and won fifth place in the ultra competitive BU17 division. Makeda Moshi, GU17, sixth place; Akaisha Bhatia, GU17 quarterfinalist; Zachary Ingber, BU17 quarterfinalist; Elise Kang, GU19, 11th-12th; Kian Patnaik, BU15, 13th-16th; Calla Yim, GU19, 17th; Shreya … Continue Reading ››

If you’ve never competed on a junior squash team, now is your chance. You’ll likely find team squash is fun and a great experience. If you hope to play in college someday, this will give you a taste of playing on a team. Now is a great time to assemble a team. The National Capital Squash (NCS) Board sponsors high school teams to compete in the US Squash National Interscholastic Team Squash Championships. This event is open only to teams with students who attend a school without a squash team. Teams that combine players from two or more schools in the NCS district may receive the sponsorship. Seven players play each match, so most teams use a roster of eight players. Teams are placed in divisions and seeded by skill level, so teams get competitive matches. The Team Championships are the weekend of January 24 at the Specter Center in Philadelphia, and the tournament … Continue Reading ››