NEW YORK—The Columbia men's and women's squash programs hosted Trinity in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams Thursday afternoon at SL Green Streetsquash. The Lions competed hard, but No. 2 Trinity defeated the No. 8 ranked Columbia women's team 7-2, while No. 2 Trinity registered an 8-1 decision over the No. 10 ranked Columbia men's squad.
 
The decisions drop Columbia's women's team to 7-2 on the year, while the men's squad is now 5-4. Trinity improves to 10-0 in women's and 8-0 in men's.
 
In the women's match, Jui Kalgutkar and Jane Pincus each claimed victories for Columbia. Kalgutkar battled back from losing the first set with three straight victories in winning a 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 victory over Trinity's Nadiia Usenko at the No. 4 position. Pincus won three straight sets to defeat Trinity's Lily Taylor-French 13-11, 11-7, 3-11 for a win at No. 9.
 
Columbia had opportunities to register points at the No. 7 and No. 8 positions. At No. 7, Columbia's Cynthia Cao had a 2-1 lead over Nanna Carleke, but Carleke won the final two sets to take an 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8 decision. At No. 8, Columbia's Doria Chen held a 2-1 lead over Amina Taher before Taher rallied for a 9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 14-12, 11-7 win. Trinity won the other four matches by a 3-0 score.
 
In the men's match, Callan Hall registered Columbia's lone victory with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Trinity's Michael Craig at the No. 2 position. Hall claimed the win with an 11-13, 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7 score in 55 minutes. Justin Ghaeli (No. 4) and Rahul Sehrawat (No. 5) both played to four sets. Trinity won the six other matches in three sets.
 
Columbia's squash ties to Trinity run deep as Head Coach Jacques Swanepoel is a 2007 graduate of the Connecticut school. A former member of the South African National Squash Team, Swanepoel was a two-time All-American at Trinity, and helped lead the Bantams to four consecutive national championships. Swanepoel served as a captain at Trinity as a senior, and was named the team's Most Improved Player in back-to-back seasons (2005 and 2006). Prior to his time at Trinity, Swanepoel was the No. 2 ranked junior player in South Africa, and participated on the country's U-19 national team. Additionally, Associate Head Coach Joanne Schickerling served as an assistant coach at the Connecticut school for five seasons from 2013-17.
 
Thursday's matches marked the start of a busy weekend for Columbia Squash at SL Green Steetsquash. On Sunday, Columbia's women's team will take on Stanford in a match scheduled for 10:30 a.m. followed by a combined men's and women's matchup against Harvard, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. Both the Harvard men's and women's teams own perfect 4-0 records and are both ranked No. 1 nationally in their respective polls.

Women's Results
1 | Min Jie Teh (Trinity) def. Habiba Mohamed (Columbia), 11-7, 11-4, 11-6
2 | Akanksha Salunkhe (Trinity) def. Nicole Kendall (Columbia), 11-8, 11-8, 11-4
3 | Luz Sarahi Lopez Dominguez (Trinity) def. Erica McGillicuddy (Columbia), 11-8, 12-10, 11-7
4 | Jui Kalgutkar (Columbia) def. Nadiia Usenko (Trinity), 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-3
5 | Vanessa Raj (Trinity) def. Bunny Fox (Columbia), 11-5, 11-4, 11-8
6 | Lakeesha Rarere (Trinity) def. Ellie McVeigh (Columbia), 11-9, 11-9, 10-12
7 | Nanna Carleke (Trinity) def. Cynthia Cao (Columbia), 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8
8 | Amina Taher (Trinity) def. Doria Chen (Columbia), 9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 14-12, 11-7
9 | Jane Pincus (Columbia) def. Lily Taylor-French (Trinity) 13-11, 11-7, 13-11

Men's Results
1 | Miko Äijänen (Trinity) def. James Wyatt (Columbia), 11-5, 11-6, 11-6
2 | Callan Hall (Columbia) def. Michael Craig (Trinity), 11-13, 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7
3 | Kush Kumar (Trinity) def. Robin Singh Mann (Columbia), 11-8, 11-5, 11-9
4 | Thoboki Mohohlo (Trinity) def. Justin Ghaeli (Columbia), 14-12, 10-12, 11-3, 11-3
5 | Aly Eltokhy (Trinity) def. Rahul Sehrawat (Columbia), 11-8, 11-8. 11-5, 12-10
6 | Andrew Lee (Trinity) def. Aditya Kankariya (Columbia), 11-8, 11-4, 11-5
7 | Aly Tolba (Trinity) def. Hugh Camiener (Columbia) 11-5, 11-2, 15-13
8 | Aryaman Adik (Trinity) def. Andrew Jung (Columbia), 11-7, 11-9, 11-9
9 | Utkarsh Baheti (Trinity) def. Vishan Patel (Columbia), 11-9. 11-7, 11-7