The Rye Girls Squash team polished off the 2026 season with a close, exciting win over Greenwich at US Squash Nationals on Saturday, February 21, ending the year on a well-earned high note. The Philadelphia-based tournament was truncated one day short due to the wintry weather on the east coast, which allowed this win against the Blue Wave to mark the final challenge on the Garnet’s schedule.
“The girls finished the season at Nationals following their team motto of ‘play hard and have fun’,” Head Coach Tony Campbell told MyRye.com. “As a culminating event on the season, every girl played their best squash of the season at some point in the weekend.”
Senior captain Mia Howson, Rye’s top player, picked up a clutch individual win to get the ball rolling and lift her team’s energy, and standout freshman Emma Crozier made it stand up by clinching the victory. Crozier upset her higher-rated opponent on Greenwich to seal the first win at Nationals for the Garnets, with the boys team – who also defeated the Blue Wave over the weekend – on hand in support.
Alongside their big win, Rye also suffered competitive losses as underdogs to both St. Andrew’s Prep and Princeton Country Day School. They completed the weekend in Division III at 1-2.
Rye is in a prime position to take a step forward next year in 2027, as the Garnets will return six of their starters from this year’s squad, with Howson the only one set to graduate. Sam Coyne, a senior next year, will take the reigns as captain and hope to lead a talented and more experienced group to a Fairwest League title in year three of the new league. With an influx of young talent throughout the middle and early high school ranks within the girls squash program, the Garnets are undoubtedly a program on the rise.
“The team will look to build on this experience next year when they’ll be led by returning now junior captain Sam Coyne,” Campbell told MyRye.com. “[Coyne] had a great tournament, exhibiting the poise and resolve of an experienced, high-pressure player.”
