Squash Prepares for Weekend of Competition

Sunday, November 12

New York, N.Y.

Noon

Columbia

Virginia

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

11/17/2023 12:36:00 PM | Men's Squash, Women's Squash

Watch - St. Lawrence Match Live Results (Women vs. Stanford)Live Results (Women vs. St. Lawrence)Live Results (Men vs. St. Lawrence)

Women’s squash faces Stanford Saturday before both teams host St. Lawrence on Sunday

NEW YORK – The Columbia men's and women's squash teams return to the court this weekend as the Lions host St. Lawrence Sunday starting at Noon at SL Green Streetsquash in Harlem. The women's team will get the weekend started with a match against No. 4 Stanford on Saturday in Princeton, New Jersey.

The women's team enters the weekend ranked No. 10 in the latest College Squash Association (CSA) rankings after a loss to No. 6 Virginia to start the season.

Despite the loss, the Lions saw reigning College Squash Association (CSA) Women's National Champion Simmi Chan, Sarah Cao and first-year Kaavya Bansal earn individual victories. Chan, playing at the No. 1 in Columbia's lineup, came back from a dropped first game to defeat Meagan Best (7-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-6). Cao also won in four games from the No. 6 position. Bansal picked up her first collegiate win in her debut, defeating Caroline Pellegrino in the No. 8 match that went down to the wire (11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9).

The women will face No. 4 Stanford in a neutral match played at Princeton on Saturday. The Lions will then return home to meet No. 22 St. Lawrence on Sunday.

The men's team enters the weekend ranked No. 7 in the latest CSA rankings after posting a 7-2 win over former No. 7 Virginia last Sunday. The Lions will meet No. 21 St. Lawrence on Sunday as the team looks to start the season 2-0.

The Lions pulled out three key matches in the first wave to take a commanding lead. First, it was Zach Nam besting Francis Hajek in four games with a 14-12 win to close things out. Moments later, first-year Shaurya Bawa pulled off his first collegiate victory in dramatic fashion in the No. 2 match (6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 17-15). Senior Rutvik Rau polished off a perfect opening wave with a five-game comeback win in the No. 8 match (6-11, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-6), rallying from two games down to defeat Andrew Barr in 57 minutes.

That had the Lions poised for victory. First-year Paarth Ambani shut out Charles Braff in three games for the fourth point. Then, it was first-year Laszlo Godde taking down Myles McIntyre in the No. 4 slot (11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3) to clinch the result.

Columbia added to its victory with a 3-1 win from Harold Castiaux in the day's top-featured match. He battled Virginia's top player, Taha Dinana, for over an hour before pulling out the victory (4-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10). The final two matches of the day came at No. 3 and No. 6. Franklyn Smith fittingly won Columbia's seventh point of the day in another grueling match, topping Krishna Mishra (8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8).

Live results from this weekend's matches are available on Sunday courtesy of CSAsquash.com.

FOLLOWING THE LIONS
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.