HARTFORD, Conn. — No. 9 Columbia easily handled No. 16 Franklin & Marshall, 9-0, on Friday on the opening day of the College Squash Association (CSA) Men's Team National Championships. The Lions are competing in the B Division for the Hoehn Cup.
 
Columbia won eight of the nine individual matches in three games. Adam Goad (3), Jacob Bulbulia (6) and Gonzalo de la Mora (9) took the courts first and all earned three-game sweeps. Bulbulia improved to 7-6 on the year.
 
Harold Castiaux (1), Rutvik Rau (5) and Sameer Saxena (7) clinched the team result in the second wave to make it 6-0 in favor of the Lions. Castiaux, Columbia's No. 1 all season, defeated F&M's Petr Noehl, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7, to improve to 5-8 on the year. Rau improved his dual record to 6-6.
 
The Lions closed out the sweep with wins by Chaitanya Shah (2), Zach Nam (4) and Ryan Chen (8). Shah and Chen took three-game victories, while Nam rallied to pull out a tough five-game result, 11-8, 6-11, 3-11, 11-4, 11-8. Nam improved his dual record to 8-5.
 
Columbia, the top seed in the Hoehn Cup Draw, will take on the winner between fifth-seeded Rochester and fourth-seeded Western Ontario in Saturday's semifinals at 11 a.m. ET. Fans looking to follow Saturday's match can watch live on YouTube. Live results will also be provided by ClubLocker.com.
 
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.