“When you show your anger, [your opponents] know they have an advantage,” Hall said. “So you can choke up on your racket and [hit yourself] subtly, and it kills. So it gets out your aggression while also not letting [your opponent] get any satisfaction.”
Armed with this competitive streak, Hall now guides an extraordinarily young Crimson squad with co-captain Ella Witcher. The two are the oldest on the team, which features ten freshmen and sophomores.
“She has such leadership on the court,” Witcher said. “She’s a great player, but she takes the time to always help everyone and give them suggestions.”
Eye of the Tiger
As she matures in her mental game, Hall has disposed of an astonishing number of superstitions that ranged from having to be the first person on the court to not allowing the ball to roll over a red line during warm-ups. But still, she admits to a fixation with squash outfits.
“Once I’ve lost in things twice consecutively, I can’t wear them again in a tournament match,” Hall said. “I have OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder] when it comes to matching. My sports bra has to match my spandex which has to match my bandanna.”
Such efforts do not go unnoticed.
“She’s definitely known for her great fashion sense on the court,” Witcher added.
All of her quirks aside, Hall’s future looks bright. An English major and lover of writing, she plans to attend graduate school eventually. For now, she’s leaning towards playing professional squash for a few years out of college, with an eye towards finally competing in Asia.
“[Squash] gave me so many great opportunities to travel, and that’s one of the things I’m most grateful for,” Hall said. “All kinds of junior worlds are in Egypt and Malaysia, but for some reason, my [competitions] are always in England.”
Her desire to travel ties into an awareness of the stigma attached to squash as an exclusive sport in the U.S.
“The squash clubs in this country are elite sort of cricket clubs, but in other countries, the basketball courts are next to the squash courts—it’s just a normal sport that everyone plays,” Hall said.
“That’s why other countries are so much better than America because they actually have athletic people coming and trying and working hard while here it’s rich old men playing or rich old men’s kids who want to go to good colleges playing,” Hall added. “So if America wants to compete with the world, it’s going to have to change that about squash.”
The U.S. can bank on having Hall on its side for years to come. And now equipped with contact lenses, there’s no limit in sight on just how far she’ll go.
—Staff writer Brenda E. Lee can be reached at belee@fas.harvard.edu.