Lions Prepare to Send Nine to CSA Individual, U.S. Doubles Championships

Friday, March 3

Philadelphia, Pa.

All Day

Columbia

CSA Individual National Championships

Simmi Chan (left) and Harold Castiaux (right)

Lions Prepare to Send Nine to CSA Individual, U.S. Doubles Championships

3/2/2023 4:00:00 PM | General, Men's Squash, Women's Squash

CSA Championship Home Ramsay Cup Draw Holleran Cup Draws Molloy Cup Draws Doubles Draw Watch (Friday)Watch (Saturday)Watch (Sunday)

Five Columbia women, four men to represent the Lions

NEW YORK — Nine Columbia men's and women's squash players will represent the Lions this weekend at the 2023 College Squash Association (CSA) National Collegiate Individual Championships, and the 2023 U.S. intercollegiate Doubles Championship. The draws begin Friday morning at 9 a.m. from the Arlen Specter US Squash Center on the campus of Drexel University, and conclude with the championship matches on Sunday.

The CSA Individual Championships are comprised of ten 16-player draws (80 women and 80 men) which will take place over the course of three days starting Friday. The top draws – Ramsay Division for the women and Pool Division for the men – will feature 16 players each vying for the individual national championship of college squash and All-America honors. The winners of the four Holleran (B) and Molloy (B) Divisions for each gender will be recognized as Second Team All-America selections, along with the bottom six finishers from the Ramsay and Pool draws.

Columbia's lone representative in the top women's flight, the Ramsay Cup, is First Team All-Ivy League selection Simmi Chan. The sophomore is the No. 3 overall seed after going a perfect 12-0 against collegiate competition this season, playing 10 of her 12 matches in the No. 2 spot in the lineup. She is 23-1 through her first two seasons combined. This will be her first appearance at the CSA's Individual Championships.

Four other Columbia women will compete in three separate Holleran Cup Divisions. Erica McGillicuddy is the No. 3 seed in the North Division bracket, while Nourin Khalifa is the No. 5 seed in the South Division, Elizabeth Lentz is the No. 14 seed in the North and Amal Izhar is a No. 12 seed in the West. McGillicuddy holds a 6-7 record this season from the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Khalifa went 8-5 her rookie season as the primary No. 4 player. Lentz totaled three wins as the No. 7 player. Izhar posted a winning record of 7-6 as a first year.

The top player in Columbia's men's lineup all season, Harold Castiaux is the No. 1 seed in the Molly Cup South Division bracket. His quest begins Friday at 9:45 a.m. against the No. 16 seed from Bard College, Artemy Muhin. Jacob Bulbulia is a No. 7 seed in the North Division bracket.

Chaitanya Shah and Alexander Yuzpe are the two Lions competing as a duo in the Intercollegiate Doubles Championship. Their first-round match is set for Friday at 12 noon

Fans can click here to access the 2023 CSA National Collegiate Individual Championships Home page. The website includes links to live scoring, live draws and live video for each day of competition. The live draw for the Intercollegiate Doubles Championship can be accessed separately by clicking here.

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