CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Columbia men's and women's squash teams were each narrowly defeated in closely contested matches against Virginia. The ninth-ranked men fell to the fifth-ranked Cavaliers, 6-3, while the fourth-ranked women were upset by No. 8 UVA, 5-4.
 
Three Lions earned their first collegiate victories in the top-nine of the lineup. On the women's side, Amal Izhar took down Erin O'Connor, 3-1 (11-6, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7), and Nourin Khalifa swept Emma Jinks in the No. 2 match (11-8, 11-9, 11-6). For the men, junior Sameer Saxena competed in the top nine for the first time and earned a hard-fourth four-game win over Tyler Mackesy (11-6, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4) in the No. 8 match.
 
"It came down to the wire on both sides," first-year Kenneth W. Torrey Director of Squash Chris Sachvie said. "I thought Zach [Nam] and Sameer each had really solid performances. The men's match was on the verge of getting to four-all but Ryan lost in a close five-game match. Overall, we had some solid performances and showed that we have the guy at every position that can win matches."
 
Saxena, Zach Nam and Chaitanya Shah had Columbia's three points. Shah won a thriller, 13-11, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, over Cullen Little at the No. 4 position. However, UVA proved to be strong at the top, winning the No, 1, 2 and 3 matches to help nail down the win.
 
On the women's side, the Lions were led by victories from All-Ivy League sophomore Simmi Chan in the No. 1 match, as well as first-year Nourin Khalifa in the No. 2 match. Chan earned a four-game decision, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9, over Meagan Best at the top. UVA won Nos. 3-7, which proved to be enough to squeak out a win.
 
"We figured it would be a close one and it was," Sachvie commented. "Some of the score lines show 3-0 but, at number five for instance, two of those games were 11-9. If a couple of points here and there in those matches would have flipped, we're talking about a win instead of a loss. Overall, I think we have good depth and good strength at the top. I think the middle of our lineup had some tough matches, but we can work through it moving forward."
 
The next match for both teams doesn't come until December 2, when they'll go up against Drexel in Philadelphia.

For the latest on the Columbia squash programs, be sure to follow the teams on Twitter and Instagram (@CULionsSquash), on Facebook (Facebook.com/ColumbiaSquash), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.