NEW YORK — The Columbia men's and women's squash teams hosted the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon at the SL Green StreetSquash Center in Harlem. Both matches ended in favor of the visiting Quakers by identical scores of 7-2.
The sixth-ranked Columbia men challenged the top collegiate team in the land. The Quakers won five of the first six matches to clinch the team result but the Lions made them work for it.
Harold Castiaux split his first two games with Omar Hafez in the No. 2 bout. He then dropped close third and fourth games, each by a score of 11-9.
Rutvik Rau and
Adam Goad each picked up a team point at the bottom of the lineup. Rau grinded out a tough, 12-14, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 win over Rehan Luthra at No. 8, while Goad also recovered from losing the first game against Hau Cui, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 13-11, at No. 9. Both matches lasted nearly an hour.
On the women's side (2-5, 0-2 Ivy), junior
Simmi Chan kept her perfect record intact. The reigning College Squash Association (CSA) National Champion dominated in the top match, crushing Malak Taha in just 19 minutes, 11-2, 11-2, 11-3. Noruin Khalifa picked up a win in the No. 4 match when her opponent, Jana Dweek, forfeited due to injury.
Despite the loss, the 10th-ranked Lions picked off at least one game from No. 4 Penn in four other matches. One of them was at No. 7, which saw
Eugenia Li and Natasha Pensler go to extra points in every single game.
The Columbia men's and women's teams will each host Yale this coming Saturday, followed by Trinity on Sunday. The competition on each day starts at 1 p.m. ET.
Men's Results:
No. 6 Columbia 2, No. 1 Penn 7
(1) Salman Khalil (PENN) def.
Franklyn Smith (COL): 11-5, 11-4, 11-9
(2) Omar Hafez (PENN) def.
Harold Castiaux (COL): 11-7, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9
(3) Nick Spizzirri (PENN) def.
Shaurya Bawa (COL): 11-8, 11-6, 11-6
(4) Nathan Kueh (PENN) def.
Laszlo Godde (COL): 12-10, 11-4, 11-6
(5) Varun Chitturi (PENN) def.
Jacob Bulbulia (COL): 11-2, 11-6, 11-8
(6) Abdelrahman Dweek (PENN) def.
Zach Nam (COL): 11-7, 11-5, 11-6
(7) Dana Santry (PENN) def.
Paarth Ambani (COL): 11-3, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7
(8)
Rutvik Rau (COL) def. Rehan Luthra (PENN): 12-14, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7
(9)
Adam Goad (COL) def. Hao Cui (PENN): 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 13-11
Order of Finish:
5, 2, 9, 6, 3, 4, 8, 1, 7
Women's Results:
No. 10 Columbia 2, No. 4 Penn 7
(1)
Simmi Chan (COL) def. Malak Taha (PENN): 11-2, 11-2, 11-3
(2) Sohaila Ismail (PENN) def.
Erica McGillicuddy (COL): 11-7, 11-6, 4-11, 11-5
(3) Franka Vidovic (PENN) def.
Sarah Cao (COL): 11-5, 11-6, 11-3
(4)
Nourin Khalifa (COL) def. Jana Dweek (PENN): RETIRED (INJURY)
(5) Ani Anand (PENN) def.
Aleeza Khan (COL): 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 13-11
(6) Ashna Tumuluri (PENN) def.
Amal Izhar (COL): 14-12, 11-7, 14-12
(7) Natasha Pensler (PENN) def.
Eugenia Li (COL): 13-11, 12-14, 12-10, 15-13
(8) Emma Wolf (PENN) def.
Advita Sharma (COL): 16-14, 16-14, 11-5
(9) Grace Lavin (PENN) def.
Kaavya Bansal (COL): 11-9, 12-14, 11-7, 11-9
Order of Finish:
2, 5, 9, 3, 6, 4, 8, 1, 7
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