The bulk of the team may be young, but the members on Underhill have proven they are capable of playing beyond their years in the Thursday Night Squash League.

Three out of the four players on the team are juniors and have continued to get better over the course of the 21-week season.

As a result of this improvement, the group finished with a league leading 87 points for the final round, which helped move Underhill into third place and qualify for the semi-finals.

Their opening round playoff match will be tonight against second place Kumon Learning at the Better Bodies Cross-training Fitness Centre.

"I was rooting for them," said Marie Desmarais, squash pro at Better Bodies.

"We just want to encourage the junior aspect and juniors like to play amongst juniors as well. So it is fun to have them on the team.

They can encourage each other and they have that camaraderie."

The team is made up of Zoe Walker, 15, Jeanette Carney, 15, Stephen Grundmanis, 13, and Charles Stuart, who is the only non-junior player on Underhill.

All of the junior players on Underhill take squash lessons at Better Bodies as much as three times a week. Grundmanis and Walker are also members of the Sunday Junior Squash League.

Although the regular season ended well for Underhill, the beginning started off with an injury to their position-one player, Carney, while she was playing in a tournament match against fellow Thursday night league teammate Grundmanis.

The injury resulted in her nearly breaking her ankle.

It happened after just one week of play in the league, which started on Nov. 1.

Carney was forced to sit out and watch as substitute players were used in her place.

She could only take part in three matches up until February, before she was able to play on a regular basis.

One of the disadvantages to using substitutes in the squash league is team players are each given a shirt-point, which rewards them for wearing their team uniform.

Replacement players, since they are not technically a part of the team, are not able to gain this extra point, which can add up throughout the course of the season.

In total, six points can be won by each of the four members on a team in the Thursday league.

Despite the injury to one of their top players, Underhill still managed to stay competitive in the opening seven-week round.

The team won a total of 84 points, which included an 18-point high on Dec. 6. The 84-points placed them fourth overall in the league's standings.

Underhill lost a little ground on the top three positions after the conclusion of the second round.

The group finished with 80 points, which was the fifth lowest in the seven-team league.

Although the team didn't score as many points as they did in the opening round, Underhill still managed to hang onto the fourth place position in the standings.

The third and final round was when the players on the team really began to showcase their skills.

With Carney back and playing to her potential, Underhill scored a season high 23 points in its first week of competition in round three.

Consistent play in their remaining five matches resulted in them finishing with 87 points, which was 10 points higher than the next best score.

What made the round even more impressive was Underhill was able to surpass third place Emco, which had a 17-point lead on the team heading into the final round.

Desmarais said she expected the team to improve as the season went on.

"I knew they were going to keep getting better, especially by the end," she said.

"Taking lessons and playing at that high competition level is going to make them better.

Chances are if you beat them at the beginning of the year, by the end of the year you won't be beating them because they just keep getting better and some of these adults, that is as good as they are going to get."

The top four teams in the league make the playoffs, with the first place team playing against fourth and second playing against third.

By placing third, it ensured the team could avoid an opening round matchup with powerhouse Sterling Insurance, who finished with an impressive 295 points on the season.

This was 38 points higher than the next best team.

This isn't the first time a junior team has qualified for the playoffs in the Thursday night league, but Underhill could make history if they are victorious against Kumon Learning tonight.

The win would be the first time a junior team has advanced into the finals.

The winner of the Thursday night league is given a customized mug and also has their name added to a plaque, which is kept at Better Bodies.

Unfortunately, because of the squash nationals, both Walker and Grundmanis will miss tonight's match, but replacements have been found to take their place.

The two will be back for next Thursday's game.

Desmarais said there are advantages for the juniors playing in the league.

"They take lessons but it is always good to get on the court," she said.

"Every week when they play in the league it is like a tournament match, so it is competitive.

They learn how to deal with competitive situations and they have that little bit of pressure.

It's important that they win for their team, so every week is tournament play."

She said she has been really impressed with the way they have played this season.

"I'm proud of the juniors," Desmarais said.

"They are in the league because they belong there and they have earned the right to get in because you have to qualify to be in the league.

So every one of those kids, they had to play people to get in and that's what they did."

Carney said the adults in the league have a different style of play.

"They play differently because most of them weren't trained," she said. "It is hard to change things when you are an adult, so they have their own little technique."

Carney played in the league last year and her team made it to the finals before coming in second.

She said she hopes to improve upon that finish this year.

"I was hoping to get first because last year I got second, and I got a pen and I wanted the mug," Carney said.

From their involvement the sport, the three have become friends, which Walker said it helps them as a team.

"Just as far as moral support," she said.

"We know we are there for each other and we try to go and watch each other and give pointers.

We are really close friends because we see each other so often and we all travel together.

We have known each other for so many years. We are just really tight."

She said the game experience is really valuable.

"Sometimes you get caught up with life and you can't make a match, but you know league on Thursday night is open," Walker said.

"It's just easy to know I am playing then no matter what. That's a minimum of one match a week, which is a good thing because you learn stuff in practice and then you learn how to use it in the games."

Walker said she has learned a lot by playing in the league.

"Obviously I am not going to win every game, so you do learn how to deal well with winning and losing and messing up and playing amazingly," she said.

"Just keeping yourself positive, so that you want to come back and get on the court again."

This is the first year Grundmanis has played in the league. He said he is really enjoying being involved on the team.

"In all the tournaments we play each other and then now we get to play all sorts of different people at our level."

He said he enjoys playing against the adults.

"Most of them are all really nice," Grundmanis said.

"There is some that are actually really competitive, but most of them are really nice, so that's good."