Juniors Anna Moscato and Sophie Moussapour are fairly new to the girls varsity squash team, but they were chosen as captains alongside senior Ashley Ambrosio. 

Moscato joined the team her sophomore year because she had to balance club soccer and school sports. 

She said, “Squash is a very physical sport, but for me it’s less physically tolling in terms of getting injuries.” Thus, she enjoys the community of a team sport in a less injury-prone environment. 

Halfway through the winter track season her sophomore year, Moussapour caught COVID-19 and suffered from long term symptoms, so she wasn’t able to complete the season. During that period of recovery, she would often play with the squash team. 

She said, “I really fell in love with it and it’s just such a nice group of girls.” When she was given the opportunity to join junior year, she immediately took it. 

Moscato believes that Moussapour was chosen as captain even though it is her first year playing for many reasons. 

She said, “She came into squash preseason with an open mindset, ready to learn.” She continued, “She used her prior knowledge to help others and the team responded well to her leadership.” Also, Moussapour was a tennis captain, so she had previous experience in team leadership. 

Similar to Moussapour, Moscato also had previous leadership experience, but as a soccer captain. Moussapour said of Moscato, “She’s really talented at giving feedback and constructive criticism without sounding condescending.”  Moussapour continued, “She doesn’t use her leadership role against them or act like she’s above them.” According to Moussapour, Moscato has a great relationship with the members on the team and has also become one of the top players. 

Michele Dennis, the assistant coach, said, “When Sophie and Anna are together, they have so much team spirit it’s contagious.” She recalls that they lifted the team up even before being given the title of captains. 

The other captain who is a senior, Ashley Ambrosio, said, “They bring so much energy and have experience with leading a team.” Ambrosio has been playing squash since middle school and has helped lead the team. Dennis said, “She has been the longest serving member on the team and can be partnered with anyone.” 

Their practice is shorter than most sports, only lasting forty five minutes, because there are 4 courts and there are 3 different teams. Despite having a short practice, everyone is ready to focus and make every minute count. 

Moscato said, “When practice starts, we all lock in.” 

In order to bond more outside of practice, they often have team dinners. They also do warm-ups together, which helps set a positive tone for practice and foster enthusiasm according to the captains. 

Moussapour and Moscato lead cheers during games and make sure everyone is excited. 

Dennis said, “Even though they may not be doing well during a game, they are good at shaking it off and focusing on the team as a whole.” 

One of their main goals is to have a winning record because they have lost two and won two games. Both Moscato and Moussapour want to grow the program and leave a positive impact. 

Moussapour said, “The team is very young, so there is lots of room to grow in the future and become better.” They also said they want to continue keeping up the enthusiasm throughout the season. 

Moscato said, “We want people to be comfortable putting their all to everything and feeling like putting full effort.”