This information is from Frank Schmidt, squash coach at the Pacific Athletic Club and The Olympic Club.
Gabriel Morgan, 10, one of the top ranked under-11 junior squash players in the U.S., traveled to the Washington, D.C., area Nov. 16-18 and won the National Capitol Grand Prix Squash Championships.
Morgan, a Menlo Park resident and a fourth-grader at St. Raymond School, won the Boys Under 11/13 age division in convincing fashion, winning four straight matches 3-0, and was never seriously challenged in any games despite being one of the youngest participants in the Under 11/13 draw.
The three-day squash tournament, which featured some of the nation’s best junior squash players, was held at the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, a preparatory boarding school founded in 1839.
Morgan also did very well in the Boys U15 division. After losing his first-ever U15 tournament match, Morgan rolled off three straight victories to win the consolation final match and take home third place honors out of 12 participants.
Morgan is ranked sixth nationally in the U.S. squash rankings for Boys U11, and is ranked 35th in the Boys U13. He is a member of the Pacific Athletic Club, San Francisco Bay Club, and Stanford Squash Club.
U.S. Squash has announced that Morgan has qualified to play in the U.S. Junior Open Squash Championships, to be held Dec. 15-18 in Hartford, Connecticut. The four-day tournament will feature the top U.S. and international junior squash players from around the world.
Matches will be played at Trinity College, Loomis Chafee School, and Westminster School. U.S. Squash is the official national governing body for squash.
Morgan is coached by Mark Allen, a former top-ranked world player from England, the U.S. National Team coach, and Morgan’s squash coach at the San Francisco Bay Club.
Morgan is also coached by Frank Schmidt of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, and Gareth Webber, associate head squash coach of Yale University.
“Despite his relatively young age, he already has a keen perspective that squash is first and foremost about having fun and doing your best on the court,” said Allen. “That it’s not just about the wins or the losses. This great attitude allows him to take chances, and to be creative in his play and shot selection.”
