Wave squash player Dominic Hansford’s performance at the U.S. High School Championships was endemic of the top status among public school squads Darien earned at the tournament played in the state this month.

And with squash a game of contradictions, being easy enough to learn, but impossible to master, it can seem to be like playing chess at 100 mph., while moving all of your pieces at once.

Or, it can seem like a marathon race, as sophomore Hansford discovered, as he, held it all together for a final fifth game, when the match was tied 2-2, and DHS locked up 3-3.

The victory cemented DHS’s remarkable rise to become the No. 1 ranked public school team in the nation, at the event played at Yale and Trinity among other venues the second week of Feb.

DHS was also the school with the most teams in the tournament. For the first time, Blue Wave girls were represented, adding to the three coed teams that competed in the boys division.

“We are thrilled with the growth of public school squash, a sport that has historically been the domain of private schools,” U.S. Squash Junior Development officer Conor O’Malley said. “Darien High School has become one of the leading models for other such programs in the country.”

And as far as history goes, Darien High’s making that in instant fashion, not having been long on the varsity scene in the sport.

“They have depth, as evidenced by four teams in the Championship,” O’Malley said. “And their A team is already competitive with the top private schools.”

The girls team is led by captains Aastha Narula, Holly Gordon and Jena Fritts. Sophomore Fritts went unbeaten and won all four of her matches.

Blue Wave squash 2011, US national champs.

Senior Florian’s last match went to five games. Although he lost the fifth, he entertained the crowd with a dramatic, even theatrical, performance.

It was Florian’s curtain call, but it only set the stage for Hansford’s closing act.

Darien’s third coed team, led by Jamie Hauer, saw a couple of good wins by Jack Sparkman, and the team played well all weekend.

The varsity A coed team, led by senior captains, twins, Leslie and Madeleine Gill — also star field hockey players for four-time champ DHS — competed at the highest level and came away with a 2-2 record against top-ranked squash schools.

Their final match against Packer Collegiate from Brooklyn was expected to be a close and hard-fought battle.

It was that and then some.

Wave No. 1 Jonathan Gill, ranked fifth in the U.S. for U17 boys, was matched against the top ranked junior player in the U.S.

Leslie Gill, at No. 2 for Darien, had to face a player who has represented the U.S. Junior national team. Neither was expected to win.

In the end, they both had close matches, but it was too much to ask.

And so, Darien was left with another tall order. The Wave had to win four out of its remaining five matches.

Seniors Malcolm Willis and Doug Wells came through with critical wins, the first signs of what was on the cards.

Madeleine Gill, playing at the three spot, faced a hard-hitting opponent and went down 2-1.

As she and Leslie have done since leading the team as freshmen three years ago, Madeleine shrugged off the fact that she had to compete against the boys.

The boys could not shrug off facing Gill quite so easily.

Her crushing backhand matched the power and speed of her male opponent, and she came away with an unexpected 3-2 win that kept Darien’s hopes alive.

Now it was High Noon, Hansford the last to step on the court for the Wave.

All the other matches were done, and the teams were tied 3-3. Action began and no one looked away.

Coming back from a 2-1 deficit, Hansford pulled even to 2-2.

The outcome for both teams now came down to the deciding fifth game.

Both players exhausted, they knew what was at stake, reminded by the cheering of one side or the other, shot for shot, that followed each and every point.

It’s a team sport, but players still stand alone.

And players live for this moment, it is all about the fifth and deciding game.

The winner is the one who can find the elusive balance between intensity and calmness, aggression and thinking, taking risks and playing it safe.

Hansford found the balance.

His opponent lay flat and exhausted on the court after the final point was played in the Wave’s favor, as the Darien contingent clapped politely before erupting into applause for the win.