SLS has a growing girls varsity squash program. The powerful team boasts a whopping seven seniors (Anna Yavenditti ‘25, Sofia Ortiz-Salazar ‘25, Maddie Winarsky ‘25, Maggie Fleuette ‘25, Gigi McWhorter ‘25, Sarah Steele ’25, and Cassidy Cui ’25), most of whom have been in the program since freshman year. This final season will be one full of emotions for the five girls, but not just for the average reasons. When interviewed, they all expressed having an unparalleled attachment to the program. Their attachment is not just to their underclassmen teammates but also to the program as a whole because these five determined seniors built the entire Girls Varsity Squash Team up from the ground themselves.
Before they joined as freshmen, the Girls Squash Program was not large enough to create both a varsity and junior varsity team. According to current varsity captain Maddie Winarsky ‘25, their journey began as “just 5 freshmen who started playing squash to try out a new sport.” Their other team members were graduating seniors – there were no juniors or sophomores to fill the gap. As the freshman continued to play, they fell in love with the game more and more, realizing this was a sport they wanted to pursue. For the rest of their freshman season, the team continued to strengthen their basic skills. Their goal wasn’t to win but to have fun together as friends.
Their sophomore year, it became clear that someone had to take initiative. The team was too small to be taken seriously, and they lacked a captain. One player, previously mentioned Winarsky ‘25, decided to step up. She describes how she “took the opportunity to help rebuild the program.” She explained that she and the other seniors “worked hard to recruit players who weren’t already involved in a winter sport and were open to trying something new.” This season, they “focused on improving as a group while developing a shared passion for the sport.” The team attributes a lot of their success to their coach, former Italian National Squash Team member Lucia Mathias. Mathias’ players describe her as an incredible coach who pushes her squashers to continuously improve and beat their own personal goals. The team says that “with the help of Coach Lucia and the team’s determination, we managed to rebuild the girls’ squash program so successfully in just a few years.”
It wasn’t until last year, however, that they had something to show for their effort and determination. First, they doubled their roster to eighteen players; for the first time in years they could finally field a full varsity and junior varsity team. They quickly became a squash powerhouse. After being invited to attend The U.S. High School Squash Championships in Philadelphia, they placed 4th in their division, leaving feeling proud and accomplished.
When asked what they gain from the squash team, GVS members repeated the same phrases over and over again: unmatchable camaraderie, empowered by both the sport and their teammates.
Some of the girls have even taken their love for squash and applied it to other areas of their lives. Top player and senior Gigi McWhorter competitively plays squash outside of school – something that has no doubt helped the team. She spends multiple days a week on the court year round. Multisport athlete and STEM scholar Maggie Fleuette ‘25 has made her year-long stem scholars project about the crossovers between squash, physics, and engineering.
The seniors are going to miss playing squash at St. Lukes. They’ve all dedicated much of their high school career to building the program. In the eyes of the seniors, this is their contribution to SLS and all future squashers. Winarsky says she speaks for all the seniors when she says they’re “incredibly proud of the squash team and the role [they’ve] played in shaping it into what it is today.” When asked if she considered this her legacy at SLS, she replied that “transforming squash from something I initially wanted to try into one of my most fulfilling high school experiences has been deeply rewarding and feels like a meaningful legacy to leave behind. Joining the squash team in my freshman year was one of the best decisions I have made during my time at St. Luke’s.”
