SquashBusters CEO Rodney Galvao and rising Boston senior Jason M. appeared on CityLine with Jessica Brown to talk about the organization and its impact.
Journal Entry Category: News & Press
20th Annual Derby Raises $1.5 Million
The 2026 SquashBusters Derby presented by MFS Investment Management once again brought
together more than 80 of New England’s most generous squash players with 16 world class pro players over the May 1-2 weekend. We’re pleased to announce that our 20th annual Derby raised over $1.5 million in support of SQB Boston!
The two‑day event kicked off with a 3 part Doubles Competition on May 1st at The University Club. Doubles stars competing included New Yorkers Nathan Lake, Mike Ferreira, Clinton Leeuw and Chris Walker (with family) and locals Fernanda Rocha, Justin Singh,
Hameed Ahmed and Kush Kumar.
With four teams outpacing the field after doubles, all attention turned to Saturday’s singles matches at SquashBusters with a gaggle of elite pros leading their respective teams.
Veterans Adrian Grant and Rodney Durbach relived their PSA Tour days in late stage pool play, while Dartmouth coach Vikram Malhotra and Coach-to-the-Stars Wael El Hindi threw everything they could against the likes of Malaysian #2 Sanjay Jeeva and magician Ali El Toukhy, a former Trinity standout.
But the match of the day came down to a tilt between the Columbian Cannonball Miguel Rodriguez (PSA #24) and the dapper Englishman Nathan Lake (PSA #49). Lake took the enthralling, all-court encounter 2-0, but it was not enough to propel Lucky Strike to the finals, leaving those honors to Captain Tucker Hamlin’s True Blue and Co-Captains Sam Kaplan and Jeff Harper’s Churchill Downey, the weekend’s eventual, champion.
Churchill Downey also took home the Secretariat Award for Top Fundraiser, as Co-Captain Jeff Harper raised over $88,000 for the event.
In addition to watching top-notch squash, attendees heard SQB Boston junior Richard speak about his experience and growth throughout his many years in the program.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our title sponsor, MFS Investment Management, our platinum sponsors Civic Financial and Foxfield, and all of our generous gold, silver, and bronze sponsors. We are incredibly grateful to our participants and to the entire SquashBusters community for supporting the event each year. Please check out more photos from the event at here.
Lawrence Community Squash
As of February 1st, Lawrence Community Squash is officially open and accepting new members!
Based out of the New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center, Lawrence Community Squash is a community-minded club that seeks to create a vibrant, fun, and equitable environment for players to compete and connect on the court.
Fundraising has begun for the 2025 MashUp!
The MashUp is a paddle and squash tournament which raises critical funds for the SquashBusters Lawrence students and alumni.
The two-part competition unites amateurs, students, and pros on the court in support of SQB Lawrence. Teams will go head-to-head in both paddle and squash in hopes of winning the coveted Krapels Cup.
Paddle Competition
9:00 AM on Saturday, December 13th at The Country Club in Brookline
Squash Competition
12:30 PM on Saturday, December 13th at SQB Lawrence
SQB Awarded Career Readiness Grant
With Career-Connected Learning, It’s Time to Think Outside of the Box
Written by American Student Assistance
“In an ideal world, young people entering the workforce would have the experience and education needed to make informed, confident decisions about their careers. However, only 8% of managers believe that entry-level employees are ready to contribute to the workforce and 47% of Gen Z believe they had enough information to decide what postsecondary pathway was best for them.”
Read the full article from American Student Assistance on Medium here.
A New Derby Champion is Crowned!
Salubrious. Merriam-Webster defines the word as favorable to or promoting health and well-being. An apt description of the mission of SquashBusters, it was also the perfect team name for the ultimate champion of 19th annual SquashBusters Derby. Originally founded by Jeannie and John Blasberg, Salubrious is now inspiringly led by Jack Winston and his mom Simone.
The team roared to their first podium appearance by surpassing Scott DeSantis’ Racqueteers 24-13 in the finals. After a fierce doubles competition on May 1st and 2nd, the singles began with Salubrious and Unbridled neck and neck in the Belmont Pool. On the Preakness side, Racqueteers and T-Wrecks were all tied. Defending champs Churchill Downey topped all teams in fundraising and secured the top SQB players for their team.
When the dust settled it was perennial powerhouse Racqueteers to face off against a young, scrappy Salubrious team. The Lightning Round pitted the eight singles players and the pros against each. CEO and Derby Host Rodney Galvao added another wrinkle; the pros would play twice…first with “age appropriate” racquets. Rodney then presented legends Chris Walker and David Palmer with gut strung, 1960’s bamboo racquets. The switch-up barely phased them! Chris gave Salubrious a strong three-point start, and the race was on. In the end, winner’s trophies were handed to Sir Chris, Captain Jack, Brandon McLaughlin, Leighton Calhoun, Griffin Calhoun, Nieve Monderer, Marco Barrozo, Deven Kanwal, Kevin Jernigan, Jay Bride, and Marty Freed.Though shoulder surgery sidelined him from the competition for the second time in a decade, Jamie Fagan put his good shoulder to the wheel on the fundraising front and earned the Secretariat Award as the event’s top fundraiser.
And while the squash was great fun, the highlight of the event was hearing from speaker Kymora James. A senior at the JD O’Bryant School of Math and Science, James will enroll at Boston University in the fall with plans to pursue a career in health sciences.
Like the actual Kentucky Derby, after which the annual SquashBusters fundraiser is modeled, the stars did indeed turn out for the 19th running of this Derby. Joining former 2-time World Champion Palmer and former World No. 4 Chris Walker were Derby favorites Gary Waite, Martin Heath, John White, Clinton Leeuw, Suzie Pierrepont, Wael El Hindi, Adrian Grant, Rodney Durbach, Alister Walker, Hameed Ahmed, Justin Singh, Adithya Raghavan and newcomer Vikram Malhotra.
The Derby relies on its generous and dedicated captains. In addition to Jack and Simone Winston and Scott DeSantis, those leaders this year were Jeff Harper and Sam Kaplan for Churchill Downey, Cam Rahbar and John Nimick for T-Wrecks, Rick Mayfield for Eijk’s Knights, Tucker Hamlin for True Blue, Greg Crane and Greg Jannetta for Lucky Strike, and the ever-pink Hope Prockop and Mary McKee for Unbridled
Major corporate support for the 2025 Derby came once again from lead Platinum sponsor MFS Foundation, Diamond sponsors Civic Financial, Foxfield, Intex, JP Morgan, Meehan Boyle, and Westfield Capital Management; Gold sponsors Brown Brothers Harriman, Intercontinental Real Estate, Loomis Sayles, William O’Neil + Co.; and Sliver sponsors New Balance Foundation, New England Development, Newmark, Squash Engine, and Sun Life; and Bronze sponsors Anchor Line, Compass/Biega, Day Pitney, Howland Capital, Patriots Foundation, and State Street.
With the help of more than 80 amateurs players and countless donors and sponsors we were able to meet our goal, raising $1.51 million, with hopefully a little more to come.
Greg Zaff’s (final) retirement party capped off the 2025 Derby festivities on Saturday night as over 250 people gathered at Mighty Squirrel Brewery next to Fenway Park to celebrate the SquashBusters founder and 29-year leader. With John Nimick once again handling MC duties, a slate of moving tributes came from Board Chair and former Williams teammate Don Mykrantz, lifelong friend Gary Waite, Greg’s wife Sonja Cantu, program graduates Guillermo Moronta, Vicky Flamenco and Rodney Galvao, before Greg took the microphone to speak, as ever, from the heart and about love. It was a weekend that was full of just that – heart and love – and we hope everyone had as much fun participating as we did putting it on.
Mark your calendar for May 2, 2026 when the SquashBusters Derby will turn 20!
Links to the weekend’s photos
Thursday, May 1 – Password: srwf67
Friday, May 2 – Password: srwf67
Singles – No password necessary
Greg’s Party – No password necessary
Friday, May 2 – Password: srwf67
Singles – No password necessary
Greg’s Party – No password necessary
SQB Launches RFP to Develop a New Strategic Plan
SquashBusters (SQB) is a sports-based youth development program that has been using the sport of squash to positively impact the lives of young people for nearly 30 years. It has been more than a decade since SQB approved its last strategic plan, which saw us expand our program beyond Massachusetts and into Rhode Island. It is time for SQB to develop a new strategic plan that will assess the significant changes we have experienced over the last 10 years and chart a course for the future that is both ambitious and self-sustaining.
SquashBusters has launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) to help us identify the right partner for this important work. Proposals are due May 27th.
Click here to see SQB’s complete RFP.
The New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center is Open for Business
History was made in Lawrence last week as a grand opening celebration capped a week of firsts at the New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center.
The opening of the Center marks a watershed moment for SquashBusters, becoming the first facility wholly owned and operated by SQB in its 28-year history.
The excitement began with the awarding of our long-awaited Certificate of Occupancy on Thursday, December 4th. Our youngest SquashBusters were treated to the first look, first opening circle, and first game in their new home later that day, and our high school students had the same opportunity the following day.
On Saturday, December 7th the building was humming as more than more than 40 amateur and professionals squash players, countless students, families, and supporters filled the facility when the 12th annual MashUp finally took place on home turf.
A huge thank you to our sponsors, The New Balance Foundation, Mighty Squirrel, Acadian Software, Winstanley Enterprises, Brown Brothers Harriman, Berkshire Bank, Bank of New England, and Fraser Project Management, for making the day possible. Our team captains – Jon Karlen and Jake Garmey once again leading the Andover Academics, Phil Field in charge of the Essex County Nicks, Bill Monaghan for the Lawrence Legion, and Bill Paine, Bruce Landay, and Steve Hauck driving the Volley – filled the roster with hungry competitors. After an exciting paddle competition at The Country Club on November 17, the Lawrence Legion came into the squash competition in the lead with 24 points and a six-point lead over the Andover Academics and the Essex County Nicks, who stood at 18. The Merrimack Volley trailed with 12 points.
Fierce competition on the new courts ensued with the outcome once again resting on the shoulders of our professional players. Special thanks to our pro contingent who served up some excellent squash throughout the day. Todd Harrity, in his first year off the PSA World Tour, took top honors with a thrilling win over surprise finalist Ali El Touky, a native Cairene just two years out from a standout college career at Trinity. El Touky has incredible racquet skills and seemed to hit every ball with the intent for it to be a winner, but Harrity showed the result of 11 years battling the best in the world – patience, tenacity, and precise length. Top college squash was again represented by our semifinalists, as Princeton standout and current Harvard Business School graduate student Adhitya Raghavan outlasted Harvard Associate Coach Hameed Ahmed for third place. Harrity’s victory over El Touky sealed the win and earned the coveted Krapels Cup for the Legion. The Academics continued their reign as the top fundraising team, bringing in over $85,000 and once again earning the Golden Mill trophy. Despite an incredible effort by all involved, we are still short or $425,000 goal. If you would like to contribute to a player or to the event itself, you can continue to do so here: https://give.squashbusters.org/event/2024-squashbusters-mashup/e620870.
And there was still more to come!
We capped off the week with a massive celebration and ribbon cutting for the Center, alongside our project partners Lawrence Community Works and the New Balance Foundation.
More than 150 people had the opportunity to tour our new space, hear from founder and major driver behind the project Greg Zaff, LCW Executive Director Jess Andors, Megan Bloch and Molly Santry of the new Balance Foundation, and local dignitaries like Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena, State Senator Pavel Payano, And Secretary of Housing, Ed Augustus.
The real star of the show was the building itself and possibilities it has inspired. Plans are already underway to collaborate with a number of community groups, introduce residents of the attached housing development to the sport of squash, and open a community squash program to grow interest in and visibility of the sport “up north”.
Links to Photos of the Week
Password is srwf67
The 2024 SquashBusters Mashup has officially kicked off!
About the Mashup
SQB MashUp Paddle Tournament
November 17th, 9:00 am-1:00 pm
The Country Club and Dedham Country & Polo Club
SQB MashUp Squash Tournament
December 7th, 12:00pm – 5:00pm
New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center
SQB MashUp Awards Ceremony
December 7th, 4:00pm
New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center
Join us for this exciting 12th Annual SquashBusters Mashup, a pro-amateur squash and paddle tennis tournament hosted by The Dedham Country and Polo Club, The Country Club in Brookline, and, for the first time, our very own facility in Lawrence.
This year’s MashUp, we will open the doors to the New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center for a day full of squash. This moment has long been awaited since expanding north from Boston in 2012. We’re thrilled to enter the building in the coming weeks and start programming for Lawrence’s students in their new home. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Brooks School for graciously allowing us to use their courts and classrooms throughout these impactful years
If you wish to support SquashBusters Mashup, click the link here
New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center Update
New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center
The New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center is almost finished! After years of hard work, SquahsBusters’ dream of a permanent home in Lawrence is almost a reality. As you can see in the photos, the squash courts and academic spaces are nearly complete with only a few details missing. Final touches around the building will be installed over the course of the next few weeks, including woodwork on the squash ceiling and custom seating areas as well as finishing the glass areas and carpeting throughout the center. After construction, all that remains is moving in all furniture, fitness equipment, and squash supplies before programming can commence in our beautiful new home!
If you’d like to see the space in person, please join us for the 2024 SquashBusters MashUp on Saturday, December 7 from 12 pm to 4 pm, our first official event in the new space at 26 Island Street, Lawrence MA. It will be a wonderful kick-off for the Center, with pro-squash exhibitions, student speakers, and more!