Sports

Squash Splash: Richmond Heights Athlete Colin Barry is Honored

He is a student at the U.S. Naval Academy.

A come-from-behind win by Richmond Heights resident Colin Barry resulted in a victory for his U.S. Naval Academy squash team over the University of Western Ontario.

It's one of the reasons Harrow Sports honored Barry last week as its male College Squash Player of the Week.

Squash is a "more chess-like version of racquetball," said his father, Rick Barry. He pointed to a recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that describes how several St. Louis Cardinals have added the sport to their workout routines.

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"He was the one who took to it the most enthusiastically," said Rick Barry, who played squash for years. The sport is popular on the East Coast, where Colin participated in several tournaments and caught the eye of some coaches.

He attended a summer seminar program at the Naval Academy and returned telling his family it was the place he wanted to attend school. The academy has a top-tier squash team even though it can't recruit players from countries in which squash is popular, Rick Barry said.

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Rick Barry said he is "proud for him, really proud for his team." While squash is played between two people, the team score is what matters.

In the match that contributed to Colin's recognition, the Naval Academy and Western Ontario were tied at four games each.

Players must reach 11 points to win. Colin's opponent had reached matchpoint with a score of 10-7.

It was the last game of the competition.

Colin came from behind to capture the game, 13-11. He is a graduate of St. Louis Priory School in Creve Coeur.

Rick Barry and his wife, Peggy, have lived with their family in Richmond Heights for about 20 years. They have five sons.


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